Ylisse's Pokemon Archer
by sakura365
Summary: When a Pokémon Trainer stumbled upon a cave, she somehow enters a world where Pokémon doesn't exist and needs to find a way back to her world while fighting alongside with the Ylisse prince and the tactician.
1. A New World

Chapter 1: A New World

"This sucks." A young trainer says as she looks out of the cave entrance she's in to the stormy sky above before turning to the yellow mouse perched on her right shoulder. "Looks like the storms not going to let up see. You okay, Éclair?"

"Pika." The Pokémon nods.

The trainer nods before looking back out again. "Still, this storm really came out of nowhere, huh? It was all sunny a minute ago. It was a good thing we found this cave before getting soaked." She turns back to her partner. "Looks like we'll be camping here."

"Chu." Éclair nods before her head shots up and turns towards the deeper end of the cave. "Pi? Pika!"

After hearing the call, the trainer turns to her. "Éclair? What is it?" The Pokémon didn't reply as she jumps down from her perch and bolts inside the cave. "Hey! Éclair!"

The girl gets her satchel bag and a large oval case before she chases after the electric mouse with the difficulty since she's in a cave with limited visibility. She then sees two feet in front of her and catches up with the Pikachu who is staring in awe at something.

"What's gotten into you, Éclair?" The girl asks as she picks up the mouse before looking at the direction she's staring at. A large open space with strange circle on the ground with marking on it and glowing crystals decorating the wall. "What is this…?"

"Pi." The mouse tilts her head as her owner gets closer to the circle and kneels to touch it as she puts down Éclair.

"It doesn't look like someone made it… but this pattern kind of reminds me of one of those ancient ceremonial markings…"

"Pika!" The girl turns to her Pikachu to find her at the innermost circle. "Pika! Pika chu!"

"What is it?" The girl asks as she runs over to where Éclair is but when she steps into the inner circle, the circle begins to glow causing the trainer to stop her track. "Wha-What's going on?!"

"Pika!" Éclair immediately jumps into her trainer's arms just as the two circles shine brightly, blinding both trainer and Pokémon.

It is nighttime at the kingdom of Ylisse. But the silence of the night was broken by a large thud that awoken a young man who was asleep in a forest clearing. He has dark blue hair that matches his dark blue clothing, a ragged white cape, a large piece of shoulder armor on his left arm and a bear shoulder with a tear drop looking design on his right. He also had a white belt held a sheathed sword.

After hearing him wake up a young girl who was asleep next to him. She has a blond hair done in pigtails, wore a yellow dress and brown corset over some sort of bell shaped cage with a staff right beside her.

"What's wrong, big brother?" She asks with a yawn.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up, but… Something is amiss." he answers.

"Define 'something'." She asks a bit frightened.

"Not sure. I think I'll have a look around."

"Not alone you won't! I'm coming too!"

Smiling, the man thanks his sister.

The two then investigate the forest to see what was wrong, leaving their other two companions behind asleep.

"It sure is dark… and quiet. Where the birds go…?" The girl asks nervously.

"Something is wrong here…" The man said as he scanned the area especially wary since he heard rumors going about on unusual creatures that have spotted around Ylisse.

Suddenly, a large tremor shook from beneath them.

"Ahh! Chrome!"

"Gods, what-what is this madness?! Lissa, stay close!" Chrom commands her. Then they notice as the earthquake continues the trees start to topple over. "Lissa, run."

"Huh?"

"I mean it! Go!" He exclaims as he pushes her ahead of him. They took off just when a large portion of the ground was raised in behind them and making lava burst from the ground. Chunks of molten rocks flew from the cracks and as they land in the trees it set nearly the whole forest ablaze, leaving Chrom and Lissa to run for their lives.

Meanwhile

Away from the burning forest, a young teenage girl and a strange creature lying on the ground. The creature is a yellow mouse with red cheeks and a lightning bolt shaped tail with a V-shaped notch at the end of it, which looks like the top of the heart. The girl has shoulder-length, brown hair and wears a white sleeveless turtleneck shirt, gray pleated kilt skirt, and gray riding boots. She also wears a moon-shaped pendant with a colorful stone at the crescent side and by the girl side is a black satchel bag and a large oval case.

The ears of the yellow mouse twitches and it opens its eyes upon at the girl causing it to call the girl.

"Pika! Pika chu! Pika pika!"

The girl opens her eyes and moves them at the yellow mouse.

"Éclair…" She calls as she sits up.

"Pika!" Éclair cries out as she hugs her trainer, happy to see her safe.

"But, where are we?" The trainer asks when a blob of light coming from her pocket, revealing a large mountain cat with white fur white contrasts with its black-blue face, sharp claws and short triangular tail. Its most noticeable feature a sickle like horn coming out of the right side of its face.

"Sol." The Pokémon says.

"What's wrong, Kuro?" The girl asks.

"Sol absol." Kuro points to where to blaze is at causing the trainer to stand up.

"The forest is in fire!" She exclaims and turns to her Pokémon. "Let's go, Kuro!"

"Sol." Kuro nods its head and the girl mounts onto its back with Éclair before it runs towards the burning forest.

Entering the forest, they are approaching a small cliff when a young man and girl jump from it causing Kuro to skid the ground to stop.

"Are you two okay?" The girl asks.

"Yeah. But right now, we need to get out of here." Chrom says before he and Lissa run off with Kuro behind them. When they are a good distance from the fire, Chrom notice the stranger and her animals following them.

"Now that we're… relatively safe. Who might you be miss…?" He asks her as she demounts from Kuro's back with Éclair on her shoulder.

"I'm Reina and this is-"

"Chrom, what is that?!" Lissa asks pointing at the sky before Reina could finish. Everyone look the sky to see a light coming from the sky. Turning into a portal surrounded by Zodiac symbols that opened like an eye.

Suddenly, four humanoid figures came through the portal and fell to the trees below. They stand up from the fall, seemingly unharmed, with their eerie red eyes glowing through the darkness.

"Lissa, you and Reina better stand back." he orders as he unsheathes his sword, the Falchion.

The two girls did as they were told as Kuro stayed close with Éclair beside it to protect them as well.

The four creatures lurch even closer, breathing a purple miasma from their gaping mouths. Three of the zombies, one carrying an axe and the other two swords, suddenly dash towards Chrom and the strange animals. Chrom manage to get out their path and give the axe wielding one a quick slash across its body, but instead of it falling defeat, it turns its neck in a bone crushing fashion to look at Chrom and swings its axe at him again. Luckily, Chrom blocks it and gave to zombie a strong push to the ground, then stabbing its back with his sword causing it to disappear in a cloud of smoke.

While trying to regain his composure, he sees the yellow mouse blasting a zombie with what looked like multiple spheres of thunder magic, (Eletro Ball) and the large mountain cat sends dark energy from its mouth (Dark Pulse) blasting the other.

Then a scream of terror catching the three their attention.

"Lissa!" Chrom calls out.

Lissa and Reina had their backs against a boulder as they faced another zombie. Lissa holds out her staff trying to provide some sort of protection with Reina.

Seeing their trainer in danger, Éclair and Kuro rush as fast as they could to get them.

Just when the zombie raised its axe on them, another figure came through the portal. But this one was human, wearing regal looking blue clothing with a blue cape that was dark red on the inside of it and a sword strapped to his side. He has short blue pair with a gold headband on top and wearing a blue butterfly-shaped mask. He lands on the ground just in time to block the axe from the girls.

As he was straining from the sheer weight of the blow he turned to Chrom. "Help!"

"…Right!" Chrom responds breaking out of his stupor as he charges for the zombie. Getting distracted from the battle cry, the masked swordsman pushes its weight of him as he and Chrom manage to slash it in perfect sync, turning it to smoke.

Lissa lowers her staff in relief as Reina calms down but still being cautious with this new character that showed up.

As the stranger withdraws his sword Chrom walks up to him. "Quite an entrance. What's your name?"

He says nothing as he turns his head towards Chrom.

Milord! Milady! Are you hurt?!" Called out a male's voice as a heavily armored man with brown hair riding an armored horse came through the trees, along with a young woman with a long dark purple robe, her long white hair done into two pigtails.

"Frederick! Robin!" Lissa calls out relieved to see them.

"Are such horrific creatures commonplace in these lands?" Robin asks as she sees more of the undead falling through the portal.

"They're not from Ylisse, I can promise you that." Chrom responds.

"No one is injured, then? Than the gods…" Fredrick sighs in relief.

"Thank the masked man who saved me! If it wasn't for min I'd be-" Lissa elated but pauses when she realized the aforementioned stranger wasn't around. "Hey, where did he go?"

"We can worry about him later, after we put these… things… to the blade." Fredrick says as he lowers his spear. "Eyes open now. We know nothing about this enemy."

"Right." Chrom agrees, readying the Falchion in his hand.

"Wait! What about Reina?" Lissa suddenly asks.

"Reina?" Robin repeats the name.

They hear Reina's clearing her throat getting their attention with Éclair and Kuro remains by her side protectively. Robin looks at the Pokémon with awe while Fredrick had a surprised look on his face before the former regained his composure.

"As much as we want to question you about your… companions… we have a situation to deal with. If you want to steer clear of harm perhaps you should stay behind us as much as you can. At least until these monsters are defeated, is that all right?" Robin explains to her hoping she was fine with the idea.

Reina puts her finger on her chin to think about this before speaking. "I was thinking of helping you guys."

"Excuse me, but what do you mean?" Frederick asks.

Reina puts down her case and opens is revealing a bow with a quiver full of arrows as she straps the quiver on her back and holds the bow.

"I may not look like it, but I pretty good at archery." She says.

"Then welcome aboard." Chrom says.

"Milord, is that wise?" Frederick asks.

"Yes. Is that all right, Reina?"

"I can assure you that my skills will not be useless on the battle field." Reina says.

After that, the Shepherds plus Reina and her Pokémon charge over to the zombie, cutting down as many of them as they could and later reinforcements come in the form of a female cavalier with short red hair and an archer with long powder blue hair.

As Reina continues firing arrows at the zombie army, one of the zombies tries to attack her from behind when, "Thunderbolt." She says and suddenly, Éclair appears behind her trainer's back and use the said move, blasting the electricity at the zombie into smithereens. "Good job." Reina says as she turns around to her Pikachu.

"Pikachu." She replies.

In the corner of her eye, Reina spots that Chrom is having trouble with the leader of the zombies.

"Kuro!" She calls out and the Absol rushes to where Chrom is as Reina sets an arrow on her bow before shooting it at the zombie leader's right shoulder, giving Chrom a chance to strike with Kuro as it creates a purple energy on its horn also striking the leader; causing the zombie to disintegrate into smoke.

Chrom sheathes his sword and looks at Kuro. "Thank you."

"Sol." Kuro says.

"It's seems all the creatures were vanquished. This young man took care of the rest." Frederick says as the masked stranger from earlier walks up to them.

"Um, I never got to thank you… for before. So… thank you. You were very brave…" Lissa says sheepishly.

"Chrom steps towards the individual. "You saved my sister's life. My name is Chrom. Might I ask yours?"

After a moment of silence, he finally answers. "You may call me Marth."

That mane caught him by surprise. "Marth? After the heroic king of old? Well you certainly fought like hero. We're did you learn the way of the sword?"

"I am not here to talk about me. The world teeters to a brink of a horrible calamity. What you saw tonight was but a prelude. You have been warned." He says ominously as he walks off.

"Huh? The what's teetering where now? Hey wait!"

"Chrom's brow furrows on how Marth left things. "Not one for conversation is he?"

"Perhaps. But because of his steel, it would not be the last we hear of him. I suggest we head back, I fear for the capital." Frederick says but not before looking towards their other new arrival. "But first… can you tell me who you are and how are your… pets… capable of such abilities.

"Like I said before. My name is Reina. This is Éclair and this is Kuro." She says as Éclair climbs onto her shoulder and Kuro walks to her side.

"Pika Pikachu." Éclair greets.

"Absol." Kuro also greets.

"So cute!" Lissa says referring to Éclair and pets her.

"Cha~" Éclair enjoys the feeling and snuggles closer to her hand.

"The two are part of my Pokémon team." Reina says.

"…Pokémon?" Chrom repeats the term.

Reina blinks her eyes at the confused expressions. "Is this your first time hearing the term?" She asks.

"Yeah. So those Magical Creatures are called Pokémon…" Chrom says in wonder. "Can you tell us more about them?"

"Sure. There are many types of Pokémon where I came from. And each Pokémon can be one or two types. Even now, professors are researching the Pokémon's abilities and forms." Reina explains and points at Éclair. "For instance, Éclair is a Pikachu, an Electric-type Pokémon." Then points at Kuro. "And Kuro is an Absol, a Dark-type Pokémon."

"Chrom, the creature sightings all over Ylisse. Could they be these Pokémon things?" Lissa asks.

"It's possible…" Chrom trails off before turning back to Reina. "If I may ask, where are you from?"

"Hiwamaki City (Fortree City)."

"Um… I apologize but I have never heard of… Hiwamaki City."

"Eh…?" Reina says before she and Éclair blink their eyes a few times. "E–H!? There's no way you haven't heard it!"

"We are telling the truth. We didn't hear any place that called that name." Lissa says.

"No way…" Reina trails off and sinks to the ground. "Where in the world is this place…"

"You're in the Halidom of Ylisse; more specifically near the capital of Ylisstol. Does that help?" Chrom questions back only to have Reina shake her head in response.

"All I remember is that we were sheltering a cave from the rain and the stumble on markings on the ground and here we are in a burning forest with zombies!" Reina says and scratches her head in frustration. "Now how can I go back?!"

Chrom scratches his chin in deep thought as this situation reminds him of Robin's without the amnesia. He couldn't leave her in an unfamiliar area, especially with these brigand attacks that have been happening lately.

"How about staying with us. At least until you can figure out a way back." He offers her.

"Is that wise Milord? For all we know she's the cause of these sightings." Frederick suggests.

"I can hear you." Reina says with a deadpanned look. "I'm just a person who like to travel around. There's no way I can do that."

The knight sighs. "Very well. But I have my eye on you."

"Now that settled. Let's head back to Ylisstol." Chrom announced to the others.

Reina stands back up and gets a red and white ball from her belt, enlarging it and points it at Kuro. "Kuro, return."

Kuro envelops in red light from the ball and gets sucks into the ball along with the red light.

"What was that?!" The red-haired rider exclaims.

"This is a Pokéball. It's used to carry Pokémon for long periods of time without hurting the Pokémon." Reina explains.

"Incredible… but…" Lissa wonders as she eyed on the ball curiously.

"Like I said before, the Pokémon don't get hurt while they're in here. Unless they don't like tight spaces…"

"What about that one?" Lissa points at Éclair.

"Actually, Éclair doesn't like to be in the Pokéball." Reina says in a matter of fact.

"Reina, when you said 'types' earlier, what do you mean by that?" Robin asks.

"Well…"

~Later~

As the sun rises on their way to Ylisstol, Reina explains the basics of Pokémon to the group, who introduces themselves as the Shepherds as the reinforcements from earlier introduced themselves as Sully and Virion. The tells then everything from the 18 types, abilities, battle capabilities, etc. She even showed them her Pokémon Zukan that was an encyclopedia for the different species she encountered though they did get a bit spooked around the country by the talking box. However, Reina was surprised when Chrom told her that there have been Pokémon sightings around the country for the past two weeks but no one had any explanation for it.

"So around where you lived, there are these Pokémon all around?" Frederick asks.

"Yeah. Both Pokémon and humans are cooperating each other even now. But there are still some secrets in the Pokémon that we don't know about. That's why there are researchers to figure that out." Reina explains.

"You must really like Pokémon." Chrom says.

"That's right. Ever since I was little, I want to start traveling and get Pokémon all around."

"Pika chu." Éclair calls as she digs through Reina's bag and takes out a sketchbook out and hands it to Lissa who is walking next to the trainer.

"Éclair!" She scolds as blushes with embarrassment but Lissa is already looking at it.

"Wow, these are really pretty pictures, Reina!" She complements as she looks through sketches of Pokémon and sceneries. Soon enough everyone was peeking at her sketches.

"These are amazing. You're a really talented artist!" Robin praises as well only for Reina to look down as her face is all red.

"Well here we are everyone." Chrom announces suddenly as they arrived at large town with many people already going about their day.

"So this is Ylisstol, capital of Ylisse… I've never seen so many people!" Robin exclaims in surprise.

"It appears the capitol has been spared the chaos we've encountered, thank the gods." Frederick says in relief.

"Well that's a relief!" Lissa agrees.

"Look! The Exalt has come to see us!" Exclaimed an elderly villager.

Everyone turn to see a blond woman with long green robes walk amongst the people, surrounded by guards mounting on pegasi as the woman seems to radiate a calming aura.

"The Exalt? She's your ruler, yes?" Robin inquires while Reina blinks at the unfamiliar word.

"Exalt? Is she like a queen?" She asks.

Frederick nods. "Yes. Her name is Emmeryn."

"Is it safe for her to be amongst commoners like this?" Robin asks.

"The Exalt is a symbol of peace, Ylisse's most prized quality. Long ago, at the dawn of our age, the fell dragon tried to destroy the world. But the first Exalt joined forces with the divine dragon and laid the beast low. Exalt Emmeryn reminds us of all of the peace we fought for then." Frederick explains which Chrom continued.

"With Plegia poking at our borders, the people need her. She's a calming presence, when some might otherwise call for war."

Robin then had a smile of her own. "Then the people are lucky to have her."

"Yep! She's also the greatest big sister anyone could ask for!" Lissa cheers.

"Hmm. That's great." Reina says and realizes something. "Eh?"

"Sister?!" Robin continues for Reina. "Wouldn't that make you and Chrom-?"

"The prince and princess of the kingdom? Yes. You remember Chrom's name but not this?" Frederick humors as he let out a little chuckle.

"But you said you were 'Shepherds'!" Reina points out.

"And so we are. In a manner of speaking. We just have a LOT of sheep." Chrom says.

"C-Chrom… I mean Prince Chrom! Sire! Forgive my dreadful manners!" Robin fumbles with her words as she did an awkward bow. Reina did the same with Éclair.

"Just Chrom is fine. I was never one for formalities."

"The prince and princess… That explains why Frederick tolerates all the teasing, eh?" Robin says.

"Indeed. Oh, the sacrifices I make for the good of the realm…" Frederick sighs.

"It looks like Emm is returning to the palace. Would you like to meet her?" Chrom invites.

Both Robin and Reina timidly nod and with that they made their way to the castle.


	2. Meeting

Chapter 2: Meeting

After Sully and Virion retired to the Shepherds barracks outside of Ylisstol, the rest of the group made their way towards the castle. Reina was in awe of the grandeur the throne room then she notices Exalt Emmeryn, smiling warmly. Standing by her side was another woman in bronze plate armor with her pale blue hair tied in a bun.

"Chrom! Lissa! Welcome home. Oh, and good day, Frederick. How fare you all?" Emmeryn asks.

"Well, we shouldn't have any bandit problems for a while." Chrom answers.

Emmeryn smiles at the answer. "Wonderful. And our people?"

"Safe as can be, Emm, but we still need to watch the borders. The brigands crossed over form Plegia."

Then the armored woman speaks up. "Forgive me, milord. My pegasus knights should have intercepted them."

"No, Philia. Your duty is here with the exalt." Chrom assures.

"And besides, we had plenty of help!" Lissa adds.

"Ah, you speak of your new companions here?" Emmeryn questions as she looks towards Robin and Reina.

"This is Robin. She fought bravely with us against the Plegians. And Reina here helped us out in the woods list night when we encounter some… trouble. I've decided to make both of them Shepherds." Chrom gestures to the two of them.

"It sounds as though Ylisse owes you two a debt of gratitude." Emmeryn says gratefully.

"Not at all milady!" Robin says nervously.

"Th-Thank you. But I had help with my Pokémon…" Reina trails off.

"Pokémon?" Emmeryn repeats with confusion before glancing at the Pikachu jumping from her perch on Reina's shoulder.

"Éclair!" Reina calls but she's already at Emmeryn's feet.

Philia slightly startle by the yellow mouse but Emmeryn didn't seem to mind as she got on her knees and starts to pet Éclair behind the ears.

"Cha~" Éclair responds happily.

"I-I'm sorry! Éclair can get too friendly with new people." Reina apologizes as he lowers her head in embarrassment.

The Exalt giggles at both the creature and her owner's shyness. "There is no need to be sorry. I assume this little mouse is a 'Pokémon', correct?"

Reina lifts her head to look at Emmeryn. "Yes… Éclair is a type of Pokémon called Pikachu. Where I'm from they're many different kinds of Pokémon."

"Interesting. Care to explain?"

Reina then gives Emmeryn a brief explanation on Pokémon, her home and how she ended up here. However, she is nervous talking to a ruler, afraid she wouldn't believe her story.

"Hmm… So these animals with magical powers, Pokémon are creatures from a faraway land? Much like yourself?" Emmeryn summarizes from Reina's explanation who nods in response. "I see. From what you told me on how you came to the halidom, this must be quite a scare for you…"

Chrom then decides to jump in. "Since Pokémon are starting to appear in Ylisse, I've made Reina out Pokémon expert to the best of her ability. To learn how to deal with them; at least until she finds her way back home."

"I-I hope I'll be enough help!" Reina stutters.

"Forgive me. Your Grace, but I must speak." Frederick speaks up sternly. "While Reina has a vast knowledge of these Pokémon she could very be the reason they are here in the first place."

"I told you there's no reason I would do that!" Reina cuts in but Frederick continues.

"And Robin claims to have lost her memory but it is only that: a claim. We cannot rule out the possibilities that they are brigands themselves or even Plegian spies."

"Frederick!" Chrom whispers indignantly at the knight as Reina glares at him with Éclair.

"Yet you allowed them into the castle, Chrom. Do they have you're trust?" Emmeryn asks her brother calmly.

"Yes. They risked their lives for our people. That's good enough for me."

Emmeryn then turns to the two of them. "Well then, Robin, Reina… it seems you two have earned Chrom's faith and as such you have earned mine as well."

"Milady…" Robin silently thanks as Reina bows at her.

"But thank you, Frederick, for your prudence as always. Chrom and Lissa are blessed to have so tireless a guardian. I do hope they remember that they mention that time to time."

"They occasionally express something akin to gratitude, Your Grace." Frederick sighs before turning to Philia. "Philia, I assume you've heard about the deathly creatures we encountered, yes?"

Philia nods in response. "Yes, milord. They've been sighted all across Ylisse. But unlike these… Pokémon as you call them, they clearly hostile."

"Chrom, we are about to hold council. I was hoping you could join us." Emmeryn said.

"Of course." Chrom responds.

"I think that's our cue girls! C'mon lemme show you the barracks." Lissa chimes in as she drags the two by their wrist to the outside with Éclair scurrying behind them.

~Later~

Arriving in the outskirts of Ylisstol, they arrived at the Shepherds' barracks, which consists of various wooden and stone buildings and horse stables. When they enter the building, they meet up with a burly man with spikey, blond hair with some armor on his arms and legs and a woman with pale brown hair with pink body armor, a hair pin shaped like wings in her hair and a marron boots.

"Here we are! The Shepherds' garrison. Go on, make yourselves at home." Lissa says gesturing around her to the two newcomers.

"Lissa, my treasure! Are you all right? A woman with blond hair, similar to Lissa's, came to rush her with a worried look on her face. She has two white ribbons on her head, she wears what seems to be something only a wealthy person would wear, and holding a parasol. "I've been on pins and needles!"

"Oh, hey Maribelle!" Lissa says nonchalantly.

"'Oh hey' yourself! I've sprouted fourteen gray hairs fretting over you!"

"Aw, you worried too much! I can handle a battle or two!" Lissa stops for a moment before saying. "…Although I could do without the bugs and bear meat…"

"Hey squirt! Where's Chrom?" The man says walking up to them. "I bet he had a rough tome there without ol' Teach and his trusty axe!"

"Oh so you're 'Teach' now, Vaike, is it? And here I thought people were just born lacking wits. It can be taught?" Lissa jokes.

"Ha! Never doubt the Vaike! …Wait, was that an insult?" Vaike questions only realized Lissa was insulting him.

"Beg pardon, but when might we see the captain?" The brown-haired woman asks.

"Poor Sumia. She's been beside herself with concern… Her eyes were scanning the horizon all day during training. She might have earned a few bruises fighting blindfolded." Maribelle comments.

"Aw, Sumia, that's so sweet of you to worry about Chrom." Lissa says.

"Worry? Well, I… He's our captain and our prince–of course I'd worry!" Sumia says with a blush.

"So, who are the two strangers?" Vaike asks looking at them.

"No one's stranger than you Vaike… But allow be to introduce Robin and Reina! They just joined the Shepherds. Chrom's made Robin our new tactician and you know these funny looking animals that have been showing up lately? Well Reina's out new expert on them. You should see all the tricks they got on their sleeve!" Lissa introduces cheerfully.

"Oh yeah? Can any of them do this?" Vaike burps aloud.

"Ugh. I don't think that's the greatest first impression to give to a girl or anyone in general. Anyways, I'm Reina. Hope we'll work well together." Reina says as Éclair looks at him with disgust.

"Pikachu…"

"I'm sure I have much to learn in the belching arts, 'Teach'. In any case, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintances." Robin says not bother by Vaike's action.

"Ugh Vaike, that was abhorrent! Must you baseborn oafs pollute even the air with your buffoonery? Robin, don't encourage him! I'd hope you were cut form finer cloth. Hmph! At least Reina knows what a disgust that was…" At that, Maribelle storms out of the garrison leaving them alone.

"Don't take it to heard, Robin. Maribelle warms up to people slowly." Sumia says trying to comfort Robin.

"Or burns too quickly! Hee hee! But yeah, give her some time." Lissa replies.

"What's with the rodent?" Vaike points out.

"Oh that's one of those creatures that Reina owns, Éclair!" Lissa says.

"It's very cute." Sumia says.

"You think?" Vaike says as he roughly picks her up to look at her closely.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Reina says.

"Why's that?" Vaike asks as electric sparks around her.

Before Reina could answer, Éclair uses Thunderbolt and he screams. She then stops and got out only to have Vaike fall backwards covering in soot as he coughs up smoke.

"Éclair doesn't like to pick up roughly or else you'll get electrocuted by her Thunderbolt."

"Why didn't you say so…" Vaike mutters as his foot twitches.

Right then, Chrom and Frederick enters the room.

"Ah! Captain! You've returned! I was- I mean, we were so-" Sumia calls out before she trips and falls on her face.

"Are you okay?!" Reina asks as she and Chrom helps Sumia on her feet.

"…Those boots of yours again?" Chrom asks.

"No! I mean yes! I mean… *sigh*"

"All right, listen everyone! In the morning we'll be marching to Regina Ferox." Chrom announces.

"Regna Ferox?" Robin asks.

"A unified kingdom to Ylisse's north. Inhabited by barbarians, or it's said." Sumia answers.

"Warriors are what they are, and we'll need their strength to quell this new menace. Typically, the exalt would request such aid in person. But given recent events… well, the people might worry should my sister suddenly leave the capital, so the task has been passed to us." Chrom says. "Now this mission is strictly voluntary so if anyone-"

"I volunteer!" Lissa interrupts.

"Me too! You'll need Teach to help you on such a delicate mission!" Vaike boasts after he quickly stands up.

"I'll go as well." A man with bulky armor says, spooking everyone around him except Reina and Éclair. "…What? I've been here the whole time!"

Then the Pokémon trainer walks up to him. "Hey, what's your name?"

"It's Kellam and did you notice me?" Kellam asks somewhat incredulous and Reina nods.

"I… I, um…" Sumia flusters.

"Yes, Sumia?" Chrom asks.

"Well, it's just that… I'm not quite ready yet for a proper mission. I know I'd get in the way."

"Well, you could stay behind the main group, and if a battle is met, just watch and learn? You're choice, of course. But some lessons can only be learned on the battlefield."

"W-well, if you think it wise, Captain."

"Just stay by me and you'll be fine."

"Oh, yes! I mean- Yes sir, I'll do that!"

"Hey Robin! We'll be needing you too with your great tactics and all. You should join us too, Reina!" Lissa says enthusiastically.

"Are you sure?" Reina asks.

"Yeah! You'd be a big help if we see more Pokémon!"

"I guess… I hope I don't get in the way."

"Um excuse me…" Sumia speaks up. "I know Lissa said that they are these new animals but… what exactly are 'Pokémon'?"

"Reina said that she came from a land where all creatures can use magic and called Pokémon." Robin summarizes her explanation.

"Really?" Maribelle asks in surprise as she walks back in with Sully and Virion. Those who didn't know from before are also shock from an explanation.

"Yeah. The magic part is what we call are 'types'. A Pokémon can either of one or two types, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. They're 18 types in all: Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Rock, Ground, Bug, Poison, Flying, Fighting, Ice, Psychic, Ghost, Dark, Steel, and Fairy."

"Eighteen?! Here they're only four types of magic!" Sumia exclaims in awe as she starts to pet Éclair. "So what type is Éclair?"

"She's an Electric type. Meaning she can be strong against Water and Flying Pokémon but weak against Ground types. Pokémon trainers like myself should know this when Pokémon engage in battling, which is a popular sport where I'm from." Ryo explains further.

"Battle?" Frederick says shocked at what she said.

Sumia is the same way. Being an animal lover, she was worried about a cute little mouse forced to fight.

"…Don't they get hurt with this sport?" Chrom asks.

"Well… yes…" Reina answers as she rubs the back of her head. "I'm not going to lie, there are people who take it too far but Pokémon are incredibly intelligent. If you're not a competent enough trainer, they'll stop listening to you or worse, turn on you. They don't mind battling anyway, even wild Pokémon do it, but it's all about mutual trust if you're training one."

"I see… It is like a horse and its rider." Frederick compares with Éclair nodding at the explanation. The Shepherds in turn with amaze at how smart Pokémon can be, at the point of understanding human speech. "Do you engage battles often?"

"That's right! One can never resist of having a taste of Pokémon battles, but most of the time I find Pokémon that I haven't seen yet. Which reminds me…" She answers as she takes out a red rectangular from her bag.

"What's that thing?" Vaike asks looking at the unfamiliar object.

"It's a Pokémon Zukan. It's like an encyclopedia that have brief information on the Pokémon I've encountered. All trainers have these. Let me show you how it works." As She says this, Éclair jumps off from Reina's shoulder and lands in front of her.

 **"Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon. It can generate electric attacks from the electric pouches located in both of its cheeks."**

All those who weren't there for Reina's first explanation, jump at the talking box. Proving the Pokémon Zukan, Éclair letting out electric from her cheeks.

"So that move earlier with Vaike was one of the Electric moves?" Lissa asks.

"Yep. By the way, do you want to see the rest of my Pokémon?" Reina asks.

"You have more of them with you?" Sumia asks with her eyes light up.

"Yeah. Trainers can have lots of Pokémon under their ownership but and carry up to six."

"How many do you have?" Sully decides to ask.

"Six. But let's go outside to introduce you to them. Two of them are pretty big.

Everyone goes out to the fields where the Shepherds train and Reina takes out her five Pokéballs from her belt.

"Come on out!" She calls out as she throws them in the air and the balls open up to reveal blobs of light, revealing Kuro and four new Pokémon. There is a chicken standing tall, a large sparrow, a long large serpent, and a purple feline.

After giving a brief explanation of Pokéballs she introduces the rest of her team. "Shepherds. This is Kuro…"

"Sol."

"Flamma…"

"Bursya."

"Fuko…"

"Oh!"

"Mizu…"

"Ryuu!"

"And Cait."

"Nya."

Chrom steps in front of the group and bows politely to them. "A pleasure to meet all of you."

Reina then takes out her Pokémon Zukan again and points them at her Pokémon for them to learn what they are. Starting with Kuro.

 **"Absol, the Disaster Pokémon. When disasters are detected with its horn, Absol comes down from the mountains to warn people."**

 **"Bursyamo, the Blaze Pokémon. Bursyamo leaves its opponents charred with its fiery punches."**

 **"Ohsubame, the Swallow Pokémon. Ohsubame uses its impressive dive-bomber speed and its large talons to capture its prey.**

 **"Hakuryu, the Dragon Pokémon. Hakuryu has the ability to manipulate the elements as it wishes."**

 **"Enekoro, The Prim Pokémon. Enekoro lives its lives at its own pace, happy most of the time and rarely confronting other Pokémon. Even when disturbed, Enekoro will move to another spot rather than fight."**

The Shepherds all gathered around certain Pokémon to get a better look at them.

"My, my, you sure do have a lovely blend of beauty and grace." Virion complements Cait.

"Nya~"

"Yeah! You're so pretty!" Lissa says.

Sumia who is petting Mizu when she looked anxious with amount of new people.

"It's okay… You can calm down… We won't hurt you." Sumia cooed the Hakuryu softly as she was starting to calm down.

"I'm surprised. Mizu is extremely sensitive with other people except me. How do you do it?"

"Oh… I guess I'm just good with animals is all…"

"You have quite the vigor." Chrom says as he looks at Flamma.

"Bursya." Flamma nods.

"One of these days you should spar with the Vaike!" Vaike says.

"I say, you look like you could fit for a noble." Maribelle as she examines Fuko.

"Bame!" Fuko shouts as she spreads her wings.

Reina then looks around the field to see these people interact with her Pokémon, even though they found them new and strange.

"Pika." She hears her Pikachu calling and turns her head to Éclair.

"Say Éclair, what do you think of these Shepherd folks?"

"Pikachu pika."

"Yeah… Chrom was kind enough to let us stick with them, so let's help anyway we can."

* * *

For those who got used to the English version, here's the name for the Pokémon's names from Japanese to English:

Bursyamo – Blaziken

Ohsubame – Swellow

Hakuryu – Dragonair

Enekoro – Delcatty


	3. To Regna Ferox

Chapter 3: To Regna Ferox

The next day, the Shepherds gathered in a grassy field. After Chrom finished roll call, they are ready to head to Regna Ferox.

"Is everyone ready? We've a long march ahead." Chrom says.

They are about to leave until a voice frantically calls out for them. "W-Wait for me!"

Everyone turns to see a man with messy brown hair and green armor heading towards them.

"Stahl!" Chrom calls as Stahl tries to catch his breath.

"Why am I the last to hear about this expedition to Ferox?"

"Huh? But Vaike was supposed to…" Lissa's face turns into a scowl as she turns to Vaike. "Vaike! Did you forget to tell Stahl about our mission?!"

"The Vaike never forgets! …I just don't always remember, is all…"

"That's the exact definition of forget." Reina points out with Éclair on her shoulder.

"Ugh… I swear you'd forget your own name if you weren't constantly saying it yourself! Speaking of which, are you sure you remember your axe this time?"

"Hey! That was one time! …Okay, twice, but training sessions don't count! Anyway, I got it right here. Teach is leaded and ready for action! Glad to have you along, Stahl old buddy!"

"That makes one of us. I was such in a hurry, I had to miss breakfast! There were muffins and cakes and… Well, I'll tell you all about it when we march…" Stahl whines a bit.

"You are Stahl, right?" Robin asks deciding to change the subject.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Robin, Reina. This is Stahl, one of our finest." Chrom introduces.

"Nice to meet you two. Miriel told me we were getting two new Shepherds. Er, Miriel's one of our mages, she should catch up soon."

~Later~

The Shepherds proceed on their march to Regna Ferox. The trip was fairy uneventful with Reina and Éclair hitch a ride on the convoy carriage where the Shepherds keep their extra supplies for the road. They then reach a bridge near a village when they see the undead waiting for them.

Chrom's eyes furrow as he sees what is going on. "Gods, have the Risen spread this far?"

"'Risen'?" Robin repeats.

"We needed a name for this new threat, so the council gave them one." Frederick explains.

"Everyone! Remember what we're up against!" Chrom announces to the rest of the group.

"They'll remember ME once I drive my axe into their…" Vaike boasts until he grabs thin air instead of his axe. "Wait, my axe! Where's my axe?! I had it a second ago!"

"Vaike, this is no time for jokes…" Chrom groans.

"I'm serious! I just had my axe!"

"Keep to the rear, then! The battle is nigh!"

With Vaike moved to the rear, everyone gets ready to take on battle stances.

"All right, listen up …Especially those of you who BROUGHT weapons! All weapons have their own strengths and weaknesses to bear in mind. Lances have advantage over swords, for example while swords best axes. We'll want to work this in our strategy whenever possible." Frederick says.

 _"Reminds me of the Pokémon type match ups…"_ Reina thought and looks at the battlefield.

"From the looks of it…" She takes out a Pokéball. "Let's go, Flamma!" Reina tosses it in the air and out comes her Bursyamo.

"Bursya!" He cries out.

"We'll weaken them and give you all a chance to take them down!" Reina informs as Flamma and Éclair head straight into the battle as Reina fires arrows. With Flamma and Éclair using their moves to weaken their opponent by attacking their weapon arm as Reina fires arrows, this gives their the Shepherds a chance to finish the Risen and easily avoid their attacks.

Behind them a female mage came. "It seems I've caught up. Now to extirpate these brutes." She says and then looks down to see what seems to be a weapon. "Hmm? Is that an axe? Why yes it is… Perhaps someone mislaid it? I'd not thought such dereliction permissible among the Shepherds. Still, I'd be remiss to not return this implement to its owner. Perhaps along with a stern world or two of disapprobation!" She continues on to the battlefield with the axe in hand.

Vaike looks around for his weapon, looking up and sees the mage holding a familiar weapon. "Whoa! My axe!"

"I wonder what manner of ignoramus would mislay their weapon. Now I know." The mage sighs.

"Thanks, Miriel! …Er, for the axe, anyway." Vaike thanks ignoring the insult.

"Perhaps next time I should use a spell to fasten it to your hands… permanently."

The Shepherds continue to fight off the monstrosities as it wasn't too hard to defeat the Risen, but there are some cuts and bruises, but Lissa heals them with her Heal staff.

"What next, Robin? Guide our swords." Chrom says.

"Might I advise patience, milord? Robin is a fine tactician, but we have been working her mercilessly. Even the best of us needs rest." Frederick says, reminding Chrom that she too is human and has limits.

"Yes, of course, I'm sorry."

"Perhaps Robin would prefer that we choose our own actions at times."

"But how will we know?"

"We could use simple command that lets us fight on our own. So long as Robin realizes such a strategy does not guarantee victory. Acting as we see fit may not always lead to the best course of action."

Just then, as Reina shoots down a Risen swordsman, an explosion is heard from the bridge.

"Did someone go ahead of us?" She asks.

"No. We're all back here." Robin answers.

"Then what-?"

A figure jumps out of the smoke. The figure is a white and green humanoid creature with rounded hips and strong legs. Red horns are sticking out of its chest and back. On its elbows are extended blades. Its head is somewhat like a gladiator's helmet.

"That's an Erllade!" Reina shouts and takes out her Zukan.

 **"Erllade, the Blade Pokémon. Erllade extends its elbow as if they were swords, and when protecting someone, it fights fiercely."**

"Looks like it could use our help. Everyone, remember your position! Chrom, you go help that Erllade!" Robin calls out as Chrom nods in agreement.

"If it's okay Robin, let me join Chrom. It might see we're not the enemy if it sees another trainer." Reina suggests.

Robin gives it some thought. "All right. But be careful."

Reina give a stern nod and looks at Flamma and Éclair. "Flamma! Éclair! Let's go!"

"Busya!"

"Pika!"

"Everyone! To battle!" Chrom leads the charge with Reina by his side as they make it to Erllade.

The Erllade goes down to his knees as a Risen about to swing down its sword when Chrom gets in front of the Pokémon and blocks the swing. Using this chance, Reina fires an arrow on the chest and Chrom swings horizontally, turning the Risen into smoke.

Chrom then turns to the weakened Pokémon. "Are you okay?" He nods at the question. "Good. My good friends and I are here to help. You can rest easy."

Erllade suddenly rushes over to Chrom as if to attack him, much to his shock. However, when Erllade went past him and slashes at the Risen behind him, its sword raised and ready to kill Chrom, had the Blade Pokémon not took action.

"I suppose I spoke too soon." Chrom says.

"Lade." Erllade nods.

"Pikachu!" Éclair shouts as a warning. A pair of Risen soldiers suddenly appear, ready to strike for the kill. Quickly notices the warning, Reina fires an arrow and hits one straight on the head and Flamma charges at the group. At the end of his legs blazes in flames and kicks his targets, taking it down and out.

"Thank goodness." Reina breathes out in relief.

The fight goes on and they finally down to the last one as Chrom and Erllade fights it. When Chrom blocks an attack from it, Erllade jumps over him and strikes the Risen away. Same when Erllade brings up a force field to block another attack from their enemy.

"Shall we end this?" Chrom asks his newly ally, who nods at the question. "Then together!" Both swordsmen charge at the axe wielding Risen and strike it hard, turning it to smoke.

"Finally, and good riddance!" The Prince says in relief. "But if they're appearing this far up the Northroad…"

"Then no path is safe. We'll need to stay wary." Frederick says.

Many Shepherds collapse on the grass, relieve that the fight is over. Reina takes out some berries from her bag and gives them to the Pokémon.

"Say Reina, what are those fruits?" Robin asks, drinking some Vulnerary.

"Berries from my world. They come in different sizes and shapes with different effects. The one I gave to Éclair, Flamma, and Erllade have healing properties." Reina explains.

"Wow!" Lissa says and Reina approaches Erllade.

"Erllade." She calls. "Do you have a trainer?" The Blade Pokémon shakes his head. "Then you happened to found a Shiny Stone and evolved?"

"Eru." He nods

"What do you mean?" Chrom asks as he walks up to them and Reina turns.

"Most of the Pokémon start in small forms but if they gain enough growth, they evolve. Not only that, they can also evolve with enough happiness, gender, affection, and special stone. Those stones are called, Fire Stone, Water Stone, Thunder Stone, Leaf Stone, Moon Stone, Sun Stone, Shiny Stone, Dusk Stone, Dawn Stone, and Ice Stone."

"To an assumption, this Erllade had evolved from one of those stones?" Miriel asks.

"Yes, but not only that. In order for Erllade to evolve a male Kirlia has to be exposed to a Dawn Stone."

"But why did this guy evolve?" Lissa wonders.

"I'm guessing that after Erllade evolved, he wanted to protect the defenseless Pokémon from the hunters."

"Eru." Erllade nods in confirmation.

Chrom then approaches the Blade Pokémon and places a hand on his shoulder. "You did a noble deed. If it was any other Pokémon, they wouldn't do what you did."

"Erllade."

"If you wish, come with us." Chrom offers much to Erllade's shock. "You're in an unfamiliar land, and you have so much experience in battling. We'd love to have you join us. But I must warn you, there will be blood spilled by our hands. Should you accept?"

Erllade stares at Chrom for the moment and he stands up.

"Eru." He nods.

"Looks like we have a new member in our group." Reina says and returns Flamma into his Pokéball.

They all continue to march with the additional member, Erllade which Chrom nicknamed Luke, but stop their tracks when they hear a loud neighing. The Shepherds are looking around to see where the sound is coming from and found a stray pegasus out on a field.

"Well, what do we have here?" Robin says.

"Hey, is that what I think it is?" Lissa asks.

Chrom and Robin walk closer towards the pegasus. It was wearing blue cloth and armor.

"It's a pegasus, all right. I think it's hurt. Let's just have a look here…" As he was about to check its injuries, the winged horse reared its hind legs and neighs. "WHOA! Down, girl, Easy there!"

"Captain! One moment!" Sumia says rushing over before tripping over.

"Sumia! Are you all right?" Chrom asks.

"Is it those boots of yours?" Reina asks as she helps Sumia stand up.

"No! I mean, yes! I mean… *sigh*"

"Well, come no closer. This beast is crazed!" Chrom warns.

"It's okay, Captain. I can handle this…" Sumia says calmly and walks towards the pegasus. "Shh… easy now, girl. I won't hurt you." The pegasus didn't react this time and let Sumia rub her armored head. Many other Shepherds are amaze at the sight. "Shhh…"

"How did she calm it so quickly?" Robin asks.

"That's incredible, Sumia!" Lissa complements.

"I've never seen anything like it." Chrom admits.

"Yeah…" Reina agrees.

"Pika…" Éclair also agrees.

"Oh, it's… it's nothing. Really. I just have a way with animals, I guess." Sumia says.

"I should say so!" Chrom agrees.

"You all go on ahead. I'll dress her wound and catch up as soon as we're able."

"We can make time to wait for you."

"Sumia shakes her head. "Thank you, Captain. But I can manage. Every moment is precious when all of Ylisse is in danger."

"Right then. Be safe, Sumia."

"As you command, sir."

"Make sure to catch up with us." Reina tells Sumia before the Shepherds leave Sumia to tend the injured pegasus.

* * *

Erllade – Gallade


	4. Regna Ferox

Chapter 4: Regna Ferox

Upon their arrival at Longfort, they are shocked to see winter season there.

"Brr! F-F-Frebberick! I'm f-f-freebing!" Lissa complains.

"Stand beside my horse, milady. She'll shelter you from the wind." Frederick offers.

"So this is the fortress?" Robin asks.

"It's so long!" Reina exclaims.

"Yes, the Longfort. It stretches along the border of Ylisse and Regna Ferox." Chrom explains.

"The khans that rule Ferox have grown quite wary of foreigners." Frederick notices. "Still, don't mistake a lake of hospitality for open hostility. This simply calls for a bit of diplomacy."

"Negotiation's not my strong suit, but I'll do my best. Remember, everyone: your actions here reflect back upon Ylisse."

Éclair looks up at the fortress and notices something off about what is going on up there. "Pikachu!"

"What's wrong, Éclair?" Reina asks and looks up at her Pokémon's direction. "Umm, should the guards be mobilizing?"

The question surprises Chrom. "What?!" He looks up and sees the questions to be true.

"They look ready to let fly at a moment's notice." Frederick points out. "We'd best prepare for combat just to be safe."

"Just then a female voice is heard. "Halt! Who goes there?!" The Shepherds all look up and see a heavily armored woman at the top of the fortress' entrance.

"In the name of House Ylisse, I seek audience with the khans!" Chrom answers.

"Not another step, my bold lad! I've lancers at the ready!"

"Hold, milady! We're not your enemy!" Frederick assures. "Exalt Emmeryn herself sent us to discuss matters of mutual interest."

"My only interest is keeping you out of Regna Ferox, brigand!"

"B-brigand? No see here-"

"You think you're the first 'Ylisseans' to try and cross our border I have the authority to fell such imposters where they stand."

Hearing this anger the Great Knight. "How dare you! You're in the presence of Prince Chrom, the exalt's own blood!"

"Ha! Yes, indeed―and I'm the queen of Valm! You do realize impersonating royalty is a capital offense, yes?"

"How do we prove ourselves to you?" Reina asks.

"Proof? Mmm… Then perhaps we should settle this the Feroxi way. You claim to be the prince of Ylisse? Then prove it on the battlefield!"

"Rgh… Emmeryn won't like this at all…" Chrom mutters. "Please, good lady! If you'd just listen-"

"I've heard quite enough! Attack!"

Raimi gives the order to her soldiers to let loose their spears right towards Chrom. Right when he was about to be skewered, a pegasus swoops down towards him and its rider grabs him before the spears made contact.

As Chrom cringes at what could have happened below, he realizes who his savior is.

"Sumia…"

"Better hold on tight Captain. Could get bumpy." Sumia says with a serious and calm face as if she's ready to fight.

"Uh… right." Chrom says surprised at how different Sumia seems.

"You'll be fine." Sumia says, giggling behind her.

Chrom impressed by Sumia's bravery and notice the Feroxi guard getting ready to attack again.

"Sumia!"

"Right!" She replies turning her pegasus around to make a landing where the others wait for them.

"Sumia! Glad you're back!" Robin says.

"Oh, I'm glad to see you guys again and got here in time to save Captain." Sumia says relieve that Chrom is not hurt.

"That goes double for me! And this–is the same ornery pegasus we met on the road?!" Chrom exclaims, bewilder that it was the pegasus that had given him a bad first impression.

"Oh, she's a sweetheart, isn't she? …Once you really get to know her…" Sumia confirms.

"Well, many thanks to you both."

"I think the pegasus is blushing!" Lissa says.

"And I think we had all best focus on the situation at hand!" Frederick reminds.

"Chrom, they're coming!" Robin warns as the Feroxi soldiers make their way out of the fortress doors.

"All right. The Feroxi way it is!" Chrom announces so the Shepherds can engage in combat.

Robin gives out the plan on how to approach since the Feroxi split their forces, they should too and once they see an opening, head straight for the Commander. They are also giving the order to incapacitate but not kill.

"Reina, can any of your Pokémon help as well." Robin asks the trainer.

"Of course." Reina replies with Éclair gives a firm nod and takes out three Pokéballs. "Flamma, Mizu, Cait, help us out!" She tosses the three Pokéball in the air to release her three Pokémon. "Flamma and Cait, I need you help out the Shepherds who are going east while the rest of us head west. Slow them down as much as you can, got it?"

Flamma and Cait nod at the command and goes with the half of the Shepherds go towards the west gate as Reina, Éclair, Robin, and the other half go towards the east gate as the Feroxi troops start to pour out of the gate.

Chrom cuts down another guard but feels a shiver down his spine. "Why do I feel like I'm being watched…?"

"Sir? Um, sir! Right here!" a familiar voice says.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Chrom demands startled at the sudden call.

"I'm standing in plain sight, sir. Right he-"

"BWAH!" Chrom yells. "Oh! I-Is that you, Kellam? When did you arrived?"

"…The same time as you. I've been with you all along. Er, I AM still a Shepherd, right?" Kellam wonders. "It's quite the honor, after all. I'd hate to lose it. Sometimes I-"

"Of course, Kellam. Forgive me. You're just so… quiet, I completely-"

"Quite all right, sir, quite all right. I've been told I'm easy to miss."

"At least the Feroxi didn't find you."

"I've been calling to you and waving my arms for several minutes… I didn't think they've so much as glancing this way." Kellam sighs.

"You almost sound disappointed."

"Well, I just… I'm glad you finally saw me! Just try to keep an eye from now on?"

The battle rage forth fairy quickly from both sides as the Feroxi aren't expected such an organized troop and the Pokémon are unknown factor. The Feroxi have seen the Pokémon themselves but never did they think the Magical Creatures would work well with people.

Flamma goes through the troops as his legs blaze and kicks the troops, disarming at the same time immobilizing them. Cait also helps by blasting the Feroxi troops with what looks like multiple spheres of dark magic (Shadow Ball) and then a light blue ball forms in front of Cait's mouth and light blue beams are release from the ball, freezing the troops' feet where they stand (Ice Beam).

Meanwhile on the other side as Robin give commands, she is impress with how Reina commands her Pokémon. Éclair using Quick attack to distract the Feroxi to give someone an opening while Mizu keeps other soldiers away using Aqua Tail.

They manage to keep the Feroxi enough for Sumia to get Chrom and Luke up to the leader of the Feroxi soldiers, Raimi.

"Let our battle sound out the truth in your words!" Raimi proclaims as she raises her Javelin and charges for Chrom. However, she finds her attack blocked by Luke with his right blade arm glowing green (Leaf Blade).

Then Chrom comes charging towards her with Luke occupying Raimi. The two of them parried for a bit with Sumia and Like occasionally stepping. Raimi puts up a good fight against all three of them, but she is ultimately defeated.

"Then your claims were… true…"

~Afterward~

The battle has decided, both sides take a rest for the moment and Reina returns Flamma, Mizu, and Cait back into their Pokéballs as Raimi with Chrom alongside Robin, Lissa, Frederick, Reina, Éclair, and Luke.

"A thousand apologies, Prince Chrom. I truly took you for brigand imposters." She bows in remorse. "But no frauds could ever wage a battle as you have! I will send world of your arrival to the capital and escort you personally."

"That would be most appreciated, thank you." Chrom replies.

Raimi walks away to informs the others of the prince and princess' arrival to Regna Ferox.

"Amazing! Her whole demeanor changed." Robin comments on Raimi as she leaves.

"In Ferox, strength speaks louder than words." Frederick explains. "I should have known better than to overestimate the value of diplomacy here…"

"So can we get going, Chrom?" Lissa asks.

"Yeah, at this rate I won't feel my fingers!" Reina adds as the cold starting to get her and Éclair agrees with her trainer.

"Yes, it's not getting any warmer." Chrom agrees.

With that, the Shepherds takes off ready to continue what they are here for.

* * *

~Later~

They have all finally reach where they had yet to meet the Khan of Regna Ferox to negotiate with in being allices against the brigands and Risen that's starting to show up more often.

"Prince Chrom, please wait here while I summon the khan." Raimi says.

"Of course." Chrom replies and Raimi walks away to get the Khan.

"The khan is away?" Robin asks.

"Out training I'd wager." Chrom starts. "The khans of Ferox prefer to battle to politics. Or rather, battle IS their politics."

"A warrior ruler, eh? I can picture him now… A giant man with unparalleled thew, a big broad chest covered in hair, heheh…" Robin says as she imagines of what an image the khan might be.

"Am I now? …Please do go on!" A female voice comes.

"Huh?"

"A tanned skin woman, wearing dark, red and white armor, and a short and spikey, blonde ponytail, walks towards the Shepherds.

"You're the-?! Er, that is the say… The khan, I presume?" Chrom asks.

"Looks like you're wrong about the khan, Robin." Reina tells the tactician.

"HA! I like this kid. But yes, one of them–the East-khan. My name is Flavia." She introduces. "I apologize for the troubles at the border, Prince Chrom. You are welcome in Regna Ferox."

"Thank you, but I'm confident we can put that misunderstanding behind us. Is it true bandits posing as Ylisseans have been ransacking your border villages?"

"Yes. Those Plegian dogs! We found documents proving as much on the corpses of one of their captains. Plegia must see some benefit in raising tensions between your kingdom and ours."

"Damn them!" Chrom curses and soon realizes his mistake, e quickly corrects himself. "I… Forgive me, Your Grace. That was… indelicately put."

"Ha! Damn them and damn delicacy!" Flavia supports. "Here in Ferox, we appreciate plain speech."

"In that case, you should have a word with your damn border guards…"

"…Ha ha! Now that's Feroxi diplomacy! Yes, I like you already." Flavia says before she gets serious. "I know why you have come, Prince. But regrettably, I cannot provide any Feroxi troops for Ylisse."

"What?! Why not?!" Lissa asks.

"I lack the authority."

"Forgive me, but I don't understand. Aren't you the khan?" Chrom asks.

"As I said, I am ONE of the khans. In Ferox, the khans of east and west hold a tournament every few years. The victor acquires total sovereignty over both kingdoms. And that means they have the final say when it comes to forging alliance. The West-Khan won the last tournament, you see, and so…"

"So we are to receive no aid at all?"

"Not if you always give up so easily!" Flavia suddenly smiles. "The next tournament is nigh, you see, and I am in need of champions."

"What does that have to do with us?" Chrom asks as a brow raises.

"The captain of my border guard informs be your Shepherds are quite capable. Perhaps you would consider representing the East in the upcoming tournament? If you win and I become ruling khan, I will grant your alliance."

"I would have assumed Ylisseans had no place in such Feroxi traditions."

"Ha! On the contrary. The khan themselves do not fight-they choose champions to represent them. Otherwise our land would be rife with blood feuds and dead khans! We don't involve comrades or kin for the same reason. Over time, it was decided the tournament should be fought by outsiders. Although the outsiders have never included foreign royalty… That I know of! Ha! Regardless, it is your choice to make."

"There is no choice, East-Khan. My people are desperate. We face only Plegia's constant attacks, but now the added threat of the Risen. If fighting for you is the quickest way to an alliance, then we will take up our steel."

"Haha! Oh, I like you Prince Chrom. I do hope you survive the tournament! Come I'll show you the arena where the tournament is held. But be wary! I hear an equally able swordsman champions the West-Khan."

"He shall be defeated by Ylisse's necessity."

Flavia smiles at his confidence. "Well spoken again–I look forward to seeing if you're equally skilled with a blade! And what Magical Creatures can do as allies!"

"If you want, I can tell you about those Magical Creatures that you call." Reina offers.

"That would be much appreciated."

* * *

As they make their way to the stadium where the tournament will be held, Reina explains what Pokémon is and asks, "So you've been having Pokémon sightings around Ferox?"

"That's right. At first, because they were unknown to us, we assumed they were hostile." Flavia answers. "But since they never actually attacked us, we left the alone. Then one day we found an injured Pokémon, one that looks like a small black and blue dragon."

Hearing this surprise the other Shepherds.

"How did it get injured?" Sumia asks.

"Few days before, there was an avalanche near hear and it ended up near the gates. We manage to heal the Pokémon but when it woke up, it went into hiding and figured that Pokémon is timid."

"Where's that Pokémon now?" Robin asks.

"Might as well show you where it is. After all, it's in a room near the stadium."

In true to her word, Flavia shows the Shepherds where the Pokémon is and opens the door to find a plate of cut fruits is placed on the ground as a small black and blue dragon is hiding under the table.

"Monozu." Reina says and gets her Zukan.

 **"Monozu, the Irate Pokémon. It tends to bite everything. It eats everything that is edible. Approaching it carelessly is dangerous."**

"It looks like it didn't eat again." Flavia sighs.

"Again?" Reina repeats.

"Yes. We tried to feed the little guy, but it refused to eat. I worried for its health."

"Reina." Robin calls as she turns to the trainer. "Is there a way to tell Monozu that the food is safe?"

"Well, Dragon-types are delicate making them hard to raise… The only way I could think is that we show it that the food is delicious." Reina replies.

"All right." Robin says and carefully approaches to the Irate Pokémon and crouches in front of it. "Hello there." Monozu lifts its head to look at the tactician. "Everyone here is worried about you."

"Mozu…?"

"Even though this is the first time meeting each other, I want to get to know you. After all, I don't have any memories meeting Chrom and the others."

"Mozu…"

"Everyone has been kind to me and Reina when we joined the Shepherd." Robin says as Monozu stands up. "I heard that you've been stay away with the people here and not eating anything." Then Monozu slowly steps out of the table making everyone in the room to be amaze.

"Mozu."

Robin then kneels in front of it and grabs a piece of fruit and shows it to Monozu.

"Come here, don't be scared." She says and eats it as Monozu watches her. "This taste really good." Robin grabs another piece and shows it. "This is delicious. Have some too."

Monozu looks at the piece and takes a few steps forward before looking at Robin again who has a smile on her face and carefully eats it. "Mozu!" It exclaims as it rears its hind legs relieving the Shepherds and Flavia.

"See? Isn't it delicious? Have some more." Robin says presenting more pieces to it and Monozu then eats it. She then places her other hand on Monozu's head causing the Pokémon to look up. "Don't worry. You're not alone anymore."

"Zu…"

"Since that settles, let's go to the stadium." Flavia says, and Robin faces her.

"Of course." She replies and looks back at Monozu. "Make sure you finish eating all of the food."

Robin stands up and she and the Shepherds follows Flavia to the stadium as Reina notices Monozu watches them leave especially at Robin.

* * *

Monozu – Deino


	5. Two New Trainers

Chapter 5: Two New Trainers

"Well, here we are." At Flavia's words, the group stops in front of a pair of doors that leads to the arena. "Oh! And one more thing. While the west will have nine competitors fighting, the east needs six to compete."

"What?! But that's not fair!" Lissa complains.

"The West-Khan's rules, not mine. Besides with the Pokémon by your side, I've a feeling you guys have this."

Chrom turns to Robin. "What do you think, Robin?"

The tactician places a finger on her chin, thinking who should go and fight. As leader of the Shepherds and prince of Ylisstol, Chrom would be one of them. The group will need a healer, should anything happen, So Lissa is also in. Robin herself would be needed for strategies and back-up magic. Reina is skilled with the bow and planning, especially with Pokémon.

"Raido." Luke calls. Everyone looks at the Blade Pokémon who looks at Robin with great determination. "Eru eraido."

"Luke, do you want to fight too?" Chrom asks and Luke nods

"Then, here's our team: Chrom, Lissa, me, Frederick, Reina, and Luke. Is everyone okay with that?"

The rest of the Shepherds are okay with the plan and Reina turns to Éclair.

"Looks like you have to sit out on this." She says as the Pikachu has her ears droop. Then Sumia picks Éclair from Reina's shoulder and hold the Pikachu in her arms.

"Leave Éclair to me, Reina." Sumia tells her.

"Okay."

Meanwhile, someone or something looks over them at the corner.

As the six fighters walk to the arena, everyone else goes to the audience section, sitting up front. When the fighters step in, they notice their opponents consists of mages, fighters, and knights, as well as a familiar masked swordsman.

"Chrom! Look!" Lissa calls her brother.

"I see him…" He responds. "Marth! One questions, before we begin?" Marth stays silent. "…Fine then. Our swords can speak for us!"

Up in the audience, a big, muscular man raises an arm. "Let the tournament begin!"

At those words, both Chrom and Marth unsheathe their swords, Much to Chrom's shock, Marth's weapon looks a lot like his Falchion, when there is only one of its kind in the world.

"Where did you get that?" He demands but his only response is nothing but silence. "There's no way…" He jumps high into the air and strikes Marth, only for the strike to be blocked at the last minute. The two exchange blows for quite a while. As they did so, Chrom notices that his opponent's fighting style is quite similar to his own. "Tell me, who taught you to fight like that?" He asks as he blocks Marth's strikes.

The two distance themselves and simultaneously swing their swords, prepared to land another blow. Coincidentally enough, the way they move is so much similar. They strike, only to have just their blades clash. Chrom looks up and sees Marth doing the same diving move he did.

"My father!" He finally speaks.

Chrom avoids the attack and glares at his opponent, though he couldn't see it, is returns with a glare of his own.

As the two fought, the rest of the Shepherds fight their own opponents, Lissa giving them healing if needed. One of the mages attacks with a Thunder, but Reina is quick enough to let an arrow fly at the mage. As it flies pass the mage, she immediately gets closer to him and punches the mage sending him towards the wall of the arena. This cause both sides to stop and gawk at the trainer as the audience is shocked.

"Did my eyes playing tricks on me?" Virion asks.

"You're not the only one." Sully says.

"Pikachu!" Éclair cheers on.

Back on the field, both sides resume and after using Sword Dance to increase his attack power, Luke uses Leaf Blade and takes down some fighters. He then glances over at Chrom as sees he us having trouble with Marth.

Both Chrom and Marth exchange blows and neither backing down, but of the two of them, Chrom seems to be having trouble with his opponent being faster than him. Also, Chrom didn't expect his opponent to fight like him. After a while of exchanging attacks, the two swordsmen distance themselves from each other.

"Who is your father?" Chrom asks.

"I've said enough one day, sir." Marth says.

"Hmph. Is that how it is? Lissa owes you her life, and for that you have my gratitude. But within these walls, I represent the East-Khan and the interests of Ylisse. I can't promise to stay my blade, but I vow not to shame you."

Marth smirks at Chrom's word. "Heh. Never expected such youthful arrogance… We shall see who shames who!"

The two charges at each other once more. Chrom swings his sword first, only for Marth to avoid the strike. The prince sees that he won't able to dodge the masked swordsman's attack and brace himself for impact.

"Erureido!" Luke suddenly appears and blocks the hit with a Slash attack.

"What?!" Marth gasps in shock.

"Luke!" Chrom calls in shock and relief.

The Blade Pokémon manages to push his opponent away as the later moved back to gain distance.

"Thank you, Luke. Would you help me?" Chrom asks and Luke nods.

After a few seconds passed, the three swordsmen clash. As they fought, Marth proves to be quite a formidable opponent, despite having the disadvantage in numbers. Not only that, both Chrom and Luke are both coordinated as they attack him with one defend, the other attacks and vice-versa. After Luke knocks Marth's next attack away, both he and Chrom go and dealt the finish blow on the masked swordsman, defeating him and ending the tournament.

"Impressive… If not surprising…" He says, admitting defeat. With that, the tournament is over, and everyone cheers for the winners.

As the audience cheer and the East-Khan fighters are practically celebrating their win, Éclair immediately jumps down to meet Reina.

"Pika!" She calls out and Reina sees her Pikachu running up to her.

"Éclair!" Reina calls out as Éclair jumps into her arms and immediately perches on her shoulder.

"Pikachu! Pika pika! Cha~"

"Yeah. We did it. But…" Reina trails off as she looks at Chrom and Luke. "It feels like those two going to something amazing."

After such an exciting fight, many spectators leave the stadium, leaving only the Shepherds and Flavia.

"Well fought! You have my respect." Flavia complements. "And, perhaps more to the point, you have your alliance. I will provide Ylisse with the soldiers she needs."

"Truly? Thank you, East-Khan." Chrom says gratefully.

"I should thank you! If feels like ages since I've held full power. Come, my new friends! Tonight, we celebrate!" With that declaration, Flavia leaves the stadium.

"Bah! Any excuse for a party and she jumps on it…" A bald man says who took a seat next to Flavia on the stands.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Chrom asks.

"I'm the West-Khan you so rudely removed from power!" The West-Khan, Basilio shouts.

 _"He's exactly like how I/Robin imagine the East-Khan!"_ Robin and Reina thought.

"You're handy with a sword, boy. Same to you, Magical Creature." Luke slightly bows at the complement. "I thought for sure I'd picked the stronger man."

"What do you know about him?" Chrom asks, referring to Marth.

The West-Khan scoffs. "You mean that 'Marth'? Bah! He's just some sellsword with delusions of grandeur. All I know is that he turned up one eve and knocked my old champion flat. It was love at first sight, and I'm sure generally too old for such thing! Baha! Anyways, he's gone now. Up and fled the moment the tournament ended."

"He's so dark and mysterious…" Lissa sighs dreamily.

"Sounds like Marth's got at least one fan…" Robin teases.

"Well, I mean, come on… He IS sort of dreamy, isn't he?"

"And YOU'RE sort of dreaming!" Chrom says in an unamused tone.

"Yowch! Lighten up, big brother. I was just kidding."

"Milord? Milady? If this fascinating discussion is over, we'd best return home. The exalt will want this news of our alliance immediately." Frederick suggests.

"Right as always, Frederick." Chrom agrees.

Hold, boy." Basilio halts. "Before you go, I have a little present for you." He gestures someone over to them. He has black hair and blue tunic as well as a stern look. "This is Lon'qu, my former champion. Not much for talking, mind you. But he's peerless with a sword. As good as Marth, in my mind. To be honest I can't figure out how Marth bested him so quickly."

"Marth beat him?! But he looks so big and strong…" Lissa says as she walks towards him.

"Away, woman!" Lon'qu barks at her, making her back off.

"Hey! Wh-what did I say?!" Lissa yelps.

"Ba ha ha! Let's just say that ladies tend to put Lon'qu on edge. Nonetheless, he is capable. Perhaps he even has the making of a khan. Consider him West Ferox's contribution to the Ylissean's cause."

"You're certain about this?" Chrom asks.

"Yes, yes. He's your man now."

"And Lon'qu? You have no objections?"

"He gives orders, I stab people. I think our roles are clear. On one condition that is." Lon'qu says getting everyone curious.

"And that is?"

Instead of answering, Lon'qu places his index finger and thumb in the corner of his mouth and let out a loud whistle. Not long after, a humanoid figure leaps from the stands and lands in the middle of everyone.

Standing before them is a human figure with a round, red, and black head, similar to a war helmet, topped with a golden, double-headed axe blade. Its face is primarily yellow with a black outline. The helmet shrouds most of its yellow-and-black face, although its triangular eyes are visible. Resembling shoulder pads, its red shoulders project slightly over its arms and have a thin yellow line where they meet its black torso. It has white, metallic hands that resemble gloves, with retractable, blades attached. Encircling its torso are two blades, which create the impression of a ribcage. Its thighs are red and become progressively thinner as they connect to the knee. Both of its feet are metallic and split down the middle, resembling cloven hooves.

"A Pokémon?!" Stahl gasps.

"And a Kirikizan." Reina identifies and takes out her Zukan.

 **"Kirikizan, the Sword Blade Pokémon. In the wild, Kirikizan rules over a pack of Komatana. It battles to become the boss, but will be driven from the group if it loses."**

"Lon'qu, when did you-?!"

"It showed up while I was training one time. Next thing I knew, he challenged me to a duel." The ex-West Champion exclaims, interrupting Basilio's question. "Ever since then, Blade became my pupil.

"I'm going to assume the condition for you to join is if we let him join?" Chrom asks.

"What sort of master leaves his student unattended?" Lon'qu asks, confirming the assumption.

"…All right then. Welcome aboard."

* * *

~Later~

The Shepherds decide to celebrate with Flavia for a bit before going their way. Also, Reina has the chance to tell Basilio about Pokémon since they are showing up in Ferox. While a small familiar dragon looks over at Robin and the tactician notice the Pokémon.

"Monozu?" Robin calls causing it to hide behind the wall, but moves its head away from it.

"Wow! It is!" Lissa says as the other Shepherds sees the timid nature Pokémon.

Robin stares at Monozu and smiles softly at it. "You can come here."

"Mozu?" Monozu says and smiles before it runs towards her.

Reina sees this and looks at Chrom and Luke as they enjoy each other's company.

"Hey." She speaks up. "Can Chrom and Robin be Monozu's and Luke's trainers?"

There is silence in the room at her question.

"WHAT?!" The Ylisse residence gasp.

"W-Wait a second, why us?!" Robin asks.

"Well, when Luke joined us, he always seemed to be at Chrom's side and as for Robin, Monozu seemed to open its heart to you. But, it's the Pokémon who choose you two."

Both Chrom and Robin look at the Pokémon next to them as they stare at their possible trainers.

"Do you want me to be your trainer?" Robin asks and Monozu gives a sheepish nod. "Then I'll gladly be your trainer, Drago."

Monozu, now nicknamed Drago, smiles broadly and jumps into her arms.

"What about you?" Chrom asks the Erureido. "Would you be my partner?"

"Eru." He nods.

"Now let's celebrate for Chrom and Robin to have Luke and Drago as their partners!" Reina shouts as she trusts her fist into the air.

"Pi pikachu!" Éclair also shouts.

With that said, the Shepherds celebrate the night away for their new alliance, the new-made trainers, and new recruits.

* * *

The next day, the Shepherds now marching back to Ylisse to report to Emmeryn. Once they returned, Chrom, Lissa, and Luke go to the throne room and give the report.

"Then Regna Ferox will support Ylisse?" She asks. "Thank you, Chrom. I knew sending you was the right choice."

"You should see Ferox's warriors!" Chrom says in an excited tone. "Perhaps now our people will be safe from our enemies!"

"Indeed. And I see more Pokémon joined our ranks along the way." Emmeryn then says, looking over at Luke.

"Yes. This is Luke the Erureido. With him, we also recruited Drago the Monozu, who is with Robin, and Blade the Kirikizan, who is with one of our new recruits and his master, Lon'qu. Luke is also my partner."

"Oh? Is that true?" Emmeryn asks.

"Yep! Actually, it was Reina who decided that." Lissa adds.

"My."

"Yes, well… The final decision was down to me and Luke and we accepted that." Chrom explains.

Emmeryn simply smiles. "If that is how you feel Chrom, then who am I to judge? If Luke has your trust to this point, the it is the same with me."

Just then, Philia barges into the throne room.

"Your Grace! M-milord! Forgive me, but I bring terrible news!" She gasps.

"Philia! Slow down, please! What's happened?" The exalt asks the pegasus knight.

"Plegian soldiers have been sighted inside our southwest border! They attacked a village in Themis and abducted the duke's daughter!"

Lissa's eyes widen in shock. "B-But's that would be… Maribelle! Chrom, we have to do something!"

"There's more: King Gangrel of Plegia claims Lady Maribelle invaded HIS country. He demands we repay reparations for this 'insult'." Philia continues.

"And we're to believe a dastard like the Mad King of Plegia?" Chrom questions.

"Peace, Chrom. We must keep out wits about us." Emmeryn tells him calmly.

"We should put a sword in his gut and be done with it! The Mad King has been trying to provoke war with Ylisse at every step! He won't stop until he drags this whole continent to hell with him!"

Philia nods in agreement. "I agree with the prince, Your Grace. We must demonstrate to Plegia that such actions have consequences."

"I understand your feelings, Chrom. Truly I do. But if we give him the wat he wants, then we lose, no matter what the outcome." The Exalt reasons. "Our last conflict nearly ruined the halidom. It left Ylisseans homeless and starving. We cannot repeat that mistake. I will offer parley with King Gangrel."

"Emm, no! You can't!" Lissa protests.

"Please reconsider, Your Grace." Philia also protests. "He cannot be trusted to act in good faith!"

"So we either choose to march to war or leave Lady Maribelle to die? No. I will not accept that." Emmeryn points out and Philia sees the Exalt's reasons and sighs.

"Forgive me, Your Grace. I spoke out of turn." She apologizes. "I know you will always stand by your own principles. Pray, allow the pegasus knights to accompany you, though."

"I'm going too." Chrom speaks. "Someone has to save you from your good intentions."

"Reido." Luke places a hand on his chest and bows his head.

"And I want to be there for you AND Maribelle!" Lissa adds.

Emmeryn looks at the four. "As you wish. Thank you all. Your strength will be mine."

~Later~

As the Shepherd's garrison, night fell as everyone gets ready for the sudden march with haste. Chrom then shoots a glance to Reina who is helping out with the preparations as well with the other Pokémon.

"Reina, can I speak to you?" Chrom says.

"Yeah?" She replies walking up to him.

"Robin and I have been talking. While you and the other Pokémon want to come along, we think it's best if you stayed in the convoy on standby with them. Not just because you're not useless on the battlefield, we don't want Gangrel knowing that you know how to command Pokémon and I would not put it past him to make you, your companions, and our partners more targets. Any objections?"

"If it's your and Robin's decision, I have no objections. But thanks for the warning Chrom."

Chrom nods at her answers and looks at everyone. "Well then? Is everyone ready to go? It's a long march through the western mountains to the Plegia borders."

Suddenly, a boy wearing a blue and gray mage's outfit and a blue wizard's hat rushes towards the outside.

"Captain! I'm all packed! When do we leave?!" He exclaims with excitement.

"Ricken? How did you…?" Chrom asks before shaking his head. "Go back inside. You're not old enough for this mission."

"But Captain! You know my skills with magic! You know I can handle myself!" Ricken begs.

"I'd feel safer with your magic here, protecting the garrison." Chrom retorts. "All right? We're off, then. Be good."

With that the Shepherds are off, either on foot, their mounts or in the convoy as Ricken now by himself, silently fuming at what transpired.

"'Be good'? Gods how old does he think I am?!" He rants as he paces in circles. Only to stop when he gets an idea. "…Well I'll show him just how good I can be!"

* * *

~Night~

The Shepherds decides to stop midway to the border since it is already late and Chrom wanted them to be well rested in case King Gangrel is planning something. Just then, a portal suddenly appears as a medium-size, injured, avian Pokémon comes out.

The Pokémon is covered with brown feathers, and has a cream-colored face, underside, and flight feathers. It has a crest of pinkish-red feathers on its head and black, angular markings behind its eyes. The plumage of its tail has alternating red and yellow feathers with ragged tips. Its beak and legs are pink. Two of its toes point forward, while one points backward.

"Pidgeo…" The Pokémon opens its eyes weakly and the first thing it sees is Sumia's pegasus. Thinking it's enemy, the Pokémon gets up, but tumbles down in pain. Seeing that it couldn't move well because of its injuries, it screeches at the pegasus, which neighs in fright.

Sumia runs in between the two to prevent a quarrel from happening. She first goes over to calm her pegasus and once that is done, she looks over to the injured Pokémon.

"Sumia! What's wrong?!" Chrom asks as he and the rest of the Shepherds arrive at the scene.

The injured Pokémon sees the other humans coming and prepares itself for battle despite its current state.

"Is that a Pokémon?" Sully asks, noticing the avian creature.

"That's Pidgeon!" Reina identifies and fishes out her Zukan.

 **"Pidgeon, the Bird Pokémon. It is armed with sharp claws and dives from the sky to capture its prey. Approaching with extreme caution."**

Pidgeon then notice Sumia slowly approaching it and gives her a warning squawk. "Pidgeo!"

"Shhh… it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." She whispers softly as she walks slowly towards it. Sumia then crouches down to be eye level with it. "You're with friends. You're safe here."

Pidgeon's glare softens a bit since the pegasus knight's presence is surprisingly calm; enough for it to get a bit closer to her. Sumia just smiles as she slowly brings out her hand to pet the Bird Pokémon's head.

"Lissa, can you please heal it?" Sumia requests.

Lissa snaps out of awe at the sudden request and approaches them with her staff. Pidgeon slightly flinches at the new person coming over, but Sumia's petting calms it down. Lissa then uses her staff as the wounds are starting to heal. Once she's done, it then looks at his wings and raises them, finding itself relieved of the pain.

Reina then walks up to them and hands an item to Sumia. "Make it eat this. They'll regain his strength."

The pegasus knight looks down and sees it is the same berries Reina gave Luke and her Pokémon after their fight with Risen. Then she looks over to Pidgeon. "Here. They'll help you recover."

Pidgeon inspects the berry before eating it whole as it regains its strength. It then gets up and walks out of the stables.

"Wait, where are you going?" Sumia asks.

The moment it steps out, the Bird Pokémon takes off into the air. "Pidgeo!"

"I think it's saying, 'thank you'." Reina guesses.

Sumia smiles and giggles softly. "You're welcome!"

Philia then approaches Sumia. "I'm impressed, Sumia. You handle that situation well."

"Oh, um… Thank you, Philia."

"Okay, everyone, time to get some sleep we have someone to rescue." Reina says, and they leaves to their tents.

* * *

Pidgeon – Pidgeotto


	6. Beginning of a War

Chapter 6: Beginning of a War

The next day, Pidgeon still flies around the sky trying to find its flock but no sign of them. It then perches on a tree taking a break from flying and lightly scratches its wings with his beak and then notices a group of humans ahead of him. Most are the from last night including the pink-armored girl and her pegasus.

Meanwhile, the Shepherds and Emmeryn reach to the Plegia borders. Emmeryn along with Chrom and Lissa by her side, finally meet up with the Mad King. He has darkened skin tone, with very spikey and messy hair. His outfit consists of very gloomy colors and shades; mostly gray, black and some yellow around his collar and cape. He also wears a crown on his head.

"What's this, then? The exalt herself, in all her radiance?" He says in a deep voice. "I fear I must shield my eyes! Bwa ha ha ha!"

"King Gangrel, I've come for the truth of this unfortunate incident between us." Emmeryn states.

"The truth? I can give you the truth." The woman standing beside the king speaks. She has dark skin with silver hair and possibly tattoos that covers around her forehead. She wears an outfit with black as its main base.

"Perhaps milady might first share her name?" Emmeryn asks.

"You may call me Aversa."

"Very well, Aversa. Is Maribelle unharmed?"

"Who? Oh yes, the little blonde brat." Gangrel says looking towards a Plegian guard who is holding Maribelle as she struggles to break free while her wrists are tied together.

"Unhand me, you gutter-born troglodyte!" She shouts at the guard.

"Maribelle!" Lissa calls out.

"Lissa? Darling, is that you?"

Aversa has a sly smile on her face when she sees the two talking. "This girl crossed over the Plegian border without our consent. And what's more…" She starts. "She wounded the brave Plegian soldiers who sought only to escort her safely home."

"LIES! You speak of nothing but lies, hag! Did they not teach the meaning of 'truth' in wretched-crone school?!" Maribelle questions in anger.

"…You see? No manners at all. Such a nasty bird simply had to be caged."

"Such violent temper speaks to her guilt. This calls for a weighty punishment. And if she were to later to confess she was an Ylissean spy. My goodness! It would take an act of CONSIDERABLE good faith to repair our relations." The Mad King's face wrinkles.

"I have done nothing wrong! It is they who should confess! They are the ones who invaded Ylisse. They razed an entire village!" Maribelle exclaims. "When I tried to intervene, they took be and dragged me across the border. Let the plunders shops and charred homes of the village serve as my proof!"

"That would only probe Ylisse has a bandit problem–something I hear oft late…" Gangrel insults. "But indeed, tonight I shall weep salty tears into my pillow for your dead villagers."

"Your Grace, please!"

"Peace, Maribelle." Emmeryn says calmly. "I believe you. King Gangrel, I request that you release this woman at once. Surely you and I can sort out these affairs without the need of hostages."

The king scoffs at her words. "Without so much as an apology? Why should I ever both with parley? I'm within my rights to have her head this instant and be home in time for supper."

"You black-hearted devil!" Chrom barks.

"Control your dog, my dear, before he gets someone hurt." Gangrel threatens making Chrom grits his teeth at the threat. "Now then, Your Graceliness. Perhaps we can arrange a trade? You give me the Fire Emblem, and I return Mari Contrary here in one piece."

Emmeryn gasps at the condition. "You would ask for Ylisse's royal treasure? But why?"

"Because I know the legend! The Fire Emblem is the key to having all one's wishes realized. I have desired it for years. YEARS! …Yet my birthday comes and goes each year, and nothing from Ylisse. Heheh…"

"The Emblem's power is meant for a single purpose, King Gangrel: to save the world and its people at their hour of most desperate need." Emmeryn points out. "Would you claim a more noble wish?"

"I want what every Plegia wants–a grisly end for every last Ylissean! What could be more noble than that?"

"What?"

"Surely you have not forgotten what the last exalt did to my people?" Gangrel then brings up. "Your father named us heathens! His 'crusade' across Plegia butchered countless of my subjects and my kin!"

"…I have never denied Ylisse's past wrongdoings. But I have sworn to never repeat those mistakes. Ours is now a realm of peace."

"You're is now a haven of hypocrisy! Now give me the Fire Emblem!"

"No, Your Grace! I'd sooner die than act as a bargaining chip for this filthy reprobate!" Maribelle pleads.

"No Maribelle…"

By then, Gangrel has enough. "Ugh… Taaaaaalk talk-talk-talk-talk. It's time to speak louder than words! This negotiation is over, Your Luminosity! I shall have the Emblem if I have to pry it from your shiny dead hands!" The Plegian king declares.

With a swing of his arm, three brigands run over to Emmeryn but Chrom jumps in front of her and draws his sword and strike one down.

"Stay back! Or you'll suffer the same fate!" Chrom warns.

Gangrel forms a disturbing smile. "Now that's a declaration of war if I've heard one…" Then his smile goes back to be the crazed one. "A big messy war will bleed you Ylissean dry! Bwa ha ha!" More brigands appear along with wyvern riders.

"Poor, stupid girl…" Aversa says. "Are you really worth fighting a war over? Years from now, you'll be remembered only as she who destroyed House of Ylisse."

Maribelle's eyes widen in horror of the thought. "No… That's not… Oh, Lissa… Please, no…"

Just then, a burst of wind magic blasts the guard that had her bounded unconscious and pushes Aversa aside, leaving her distracted enough for a certain mage to untie her.

"Maribelle! Go! You're free!" Her savior says as she recognizes him.

"RICKEN?! What are you doing here?"

"Just run! We can talk about it later!"

Aversa gets back on her feet only to give Ricken a teasing yet sinister smile. "Oh, is this your little boyfriend? Isn't he just precious."

"Don't talk down to me, witch!" He barks back before blasting with more wind magic.

"Nngh! W-Wing Magic?"

"Come one Maribelle!"

"Right!" Maribelle replies and both of them takes this opportunity to get away.

"Wretched whelp!" Aversa snarls. "I should… No. Our soldiers have then outnumbered. The brats will be long dead before they can reach their comrades." She laughs sinisterly at the thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chrom sees what happened at the cliff side from the distance as he tries to fight off the brigands who are attacking him. He couldn't decide whether he should be mad at Ricken for disobeying him or grateful that he got Maribelle away from them. Concurrently, Gangrel goes on ahead, fleeing from the fight.

"Bwa ha ha! I have my war!" He cheers. "Captain Orton! Remain here, and take down as many Ylissean as you can. You can expect reinforcements from the forts as well. Now, do your best… at doing your worst! Bwa ha!"

Chrom then turns to his tactician. "Robin, what's the plan?"

"Right now, we need to get Ricken and Maribelle out of there. Lissa do we have a Rescue staff?"

Lissa quickly looks through the convoy for one.

"Here!" Reina says as she hands her the staff, but stays in the convoy.

"Thanks, Reina." Lissa whispers and turns around and uses it before it is too late for Maribelle and Ricken.

With both of them back to the Shepherd, they continue to fight off the brigand when they hear roars above them as look through the area and look up to see Sumia being fighting by a couple of other wyvern riders with her losing.

"Sumia!" Robin calls out.

Sumia is struggling to hold off the wyvern riders, but with the injuries she and her pegasus has sustained, she is sure that neither would take another hit. She looks behind her and sees another wyvern rider coming her way with an axe in hand to cut off her head.

"PIDGEO–!"

Suddenly, spinning saw blades made of air (Air Slash) come out of nowhere and shoot the wyvern rider out of the sky and plummeting to their deaths.

"Wh-What was…?"

That's when she sees Pidgeon speed by her with white slipstreams (Arial Ace) to rip right through another wyvern's wing.

"It's you!" Sumia exclaims in surprised.

"Pidgeo!" The Bird Pokémon nods and the pegasus knight smiles.

"Thank you… Do you want to help?" She asks and Pidgeon nods again. "All right, here goes!"

"Pidgeo–!"

Meanwhile, the other Shepherds sees the Pokémon saved Sumia from impending doom and begins to aid her.

"Chrom. Since a wild Pokémon has come to our aid, it's now impossible to keep them a secret any longer." Robin says.

"You're right, Robin." Chrom nods.

Robin inhales deeply and shouts, "DRAGO!"

* * *

In the convoy, Drago lifts its head hearing its name being called. "Mozu?"

Reina, Emmeryn, Éclair, Luke, and Blade look at the Irate Pokémon in confusion.

"Drago?" Reina calls.

"What's wrong?" Emmeryn asks.

A whistle is then heard as Blade perks up at the sound and immediately leaves the convoy.

"Pikachu." Éclair points out.

"Could it's possible…" Reina trails off when Drago and Luke also take off. "Your Grace, with what Chrom asked me to stay here, I must help the others with the Pokémon."

Emmeryn nods her head. "I understand. Please be careful."

Giving her a bow, Reina takes off and leaves the convoy with the three Pokémon.

* * *

When the Pokémon giving the Shepherds the back-up they needed, Reina let's out Fuko and Éclair jumps on the Swallow Pokémon and begins to attack the Plegia army. While Captain Orton, who is left in charge of the Plegian army by Gangrel, whom left with Aversa, is in great disbelief at the sight before him. With Luke by his side, Chrom push through the ranks and reaches Captain Orton.

"Back down now, fiend, or you will suffer consequences!" Chrom says.

"Ha ha ha! You're a funny one ain't ya…" Orton says and his wyvern dives right to the prince and the Erureido.

Chrom and Luke have a hard time getting to him with the wyvern blowing off fires out of its mouth. Robin made it with Reina and both use their tome and bow against it. Once the wyvern is down, Chrom and Luke land the finishing blow on Orton.

"This matters not. Soon war will be upon… your soils… Heh heh…"

Now it is all over, Lissa rushes over to Maribelle at once.

"Maribelle! Are you hurt?!" She asks.

"Nothing I didn't return twofold, darling." Maribelle says.

"Robin walks over to the two. "I'm glad you're safe."

"Who…? Oh. It's you."

"Yes, I know you're not especially fond of me, but it's a relief just the same."

"Oh, it's not a question of fondness. I'm simply protective of Lissa. My treasure is very sensitive, and… Wait. Am I really justifying myself to a commoner? Gods… Yes, well, I do… apologize for being curt. And… And… And you have my thanks for your part in the rescue. There, I said it!"

"You're very welcome, Maribelle." Robin says giving her a smile.

Afterwards, Chrom approaches to his sister, who exits the convoy as soon as the battle had ended.

"Forgive me, Emm. I acted rashly." He apologizes.

"It's all right, Chrom." She assures. "King Gangrel is the one at fault here, you were only protecting me."

"The Mad King will be rallying his forces, if they have not mobilized already." Frederick points out. "I suggest we make haste back to Ylisstol and discuss out strategy."

Emmeryn nods at the idea. "Oh course, Frederick. It seems war is upon us. We must protect the Ylissean people at all costs."

"And our new allies as well." Chrom says looking over at the Pokémon.

"But what made you guys to bring out the Pokémon?" Reina asks.

"That's…" Robin trails off.

"This little one did." Sumia says pointing to the Pidgeon at her feet.

"Isn't that the same Pidgeon last night?" Reina points out.

"Yes. It seems he was nearby when the battle happened and wanted to return the favor." She assumes and the Bird Pokémon affectionally nuzzles her leg.

"Aww, I think it likes you, Sumia!" Lissa coos.

"After what happened last night, I wouldn't be surprised." Sully says.

"Pidgeo pidgeo."

"I think he's apologizing for getting involved in that fight." Reina says.

"Don't worry about it." Sumia assures. "At least this makes up even, right?" Pidgeon nods at her words. "And… What are you going to do from here on out?" The Bird Pokémon looks down at the question. "If you like… do you want to come with us?"

It looks up at her in confusion. "Geo?"

"You don't have anywhere else to go, right? You just arrived in our world, after all. If you want, you can stay with us."

Pidgeon stares at Sumia for the moment and spreads its wings. "Pidgeo!"

Sumia giggles at the action. "Well, Captain. Looks like we have a new Shepherd."

Frederick clears his throat. "Touching as it is, we must get back to Ylisstol."

Reina looks up and notices the sun setting. "That's true. But it'll be quite a trip going back. Unless of everyone is okay camping out here, we should find some place to sleep."

"She's right." Robin agrees. "And we're all exhausted from that battle."

"Mozu…" Drago sheepishly nods.

"Oh? Has the little dragon got braver?" Vaike asks leaning forward at it causing the Monozu to hide behind Robin.

"Or not. It looks like it's comfortable with Robin by its side." Stahl says.

"Vaike, if you do anything to this little one, I will zap you." Robin warns

"Why me?!"

Everyone laughs at Vaike's reaction as Reina stops before looking up at the sky.


	7. The Village Boy

Chapter 7: The Village Boy

A couple of days after the incident at the border, Chrom, Robin, and Sumia is with Reina for training as the other Shepherds watches them. She helps them train their new Pokémon partners in basic commands by doing a Triple Battle. Reina uses Éclair, Flamma, and Kuro as Chrom uses Luke, Robin uses Drago, and Sumia uses her new Pidgeon, who she named Skye.

"Éclair use Iron Tail, Flamma use Flame Charge, and Kuro use Night Slash!"

Reina's uses their respective moves at the three Shepherds' Pokémon.

"Luke use Leaf Blade!"

"Drago use Dragon Pulse!"

"Skye use Gust!"

The other three Pokémon use their moves as well making a collision of both sides moves. Both sides didn't move from their spot until…

"HALP! HALP!"

The Shepherds turn and see a young boy running to them. He wears beige trousers, a blue shirt, and a pot on his head for some strange reason.

"Halp! You gots to help us! I'm beggin' you, milords!"

"Slow down. What happened?" Chrom asks.

"Y-Yes, milord! Right away, milord! …Er, if it please, your Graciousness." The boy says.

"Maybe just hold off on titles for now. What's your name?" Chrom asks.

"Donny. Er, that is, Donnel… Your Majestyful. I live in the village just beyond, sir."

"I guess that'll do. Now what happened?"

Donnel explains to the Shepherds that a whole gang of brgands came to his village which is on a small island right off the coast and took over the place and even took some of the villagers hostage, one of them being his mother. Chrom agrees to help him.

The group arrives at the coast and see a small boat, most likely Donnel's.

"Not to be rude or anything, but how are we going to get across?" Lissa asks. "That boat can fit up to four of us."

Reina cups her chin to think and snaps her fingers as an idea comes to her. "Mizu! Cait! Come on out!" She throws her Pokéballs in the air and releases her Hakuryuu and Enekoro as both unleash cries to announce their presence.

"Wh-What in tarnation?!" Donnel exclaims in shock.

"Don't worry, Donny. These creatures are friends." Chrom assures. "You may have heard of them as 'Magical Creatures', but they're really called Pokémon."

"'Pokémon'?"

"For what reason do you have for calling them out?" Frederick asks.

"Well, I thought that some could go in Donny's boat, some on Sumia's pegasus and the riders, and some with me on Mizu." Reina explains.

"On Mizu?" Ricken asks.

"Don't worry. Mizu and I do this sometimes when we saved a land Pokémon stranded on a rock before. I think she can carry up to two people on his back."

"Ryu." Mizu responds.

"But why is Cait out?" Sully asks.

Instead of answering, Reina turns to the Prime Pokémon. "Cait! I need you to make a path of solid ice with your strongest Ice Beam!"

Cait nods as she approaches to the water facing the ocean. Then a light blue ball forms in front of her mouth.

"Nyao!" Cait releases light blue beams towards the ocean, making it freeze on contact. When she is sure the ice is thick enough for horses and convoy to stand on, she goes ahead of them.

"That's really clever!" Robin complements. "So Pokémon's attacks can also be used like this?"

"Yep. Sometimes, if there is a path that is blocked, you can use Moves like this to make it."

"I see."

"Now let's get things moving!"

Everyone follows Reina's plan and make way towards the island in their respective mounts or on foot as dusk falls. Donnel who decides to hitch a ride on Mizu with Reina couldn't really stop gawking at the Pokémon who are with them.

When they are almost to the island, they hear a cry for help. "POKA–!"

"What was that?" Reina questions at what she heard.

"Dat was Quin!" Donnel exclaims.

"Who?"

The farm boy didn't answer as he jumps off from Mizu and rushes as fast as he can towards the end of the path, ignoring the Shepherds' calls. Donnel then jumps into the shallow waters before Cait could finish freezing the path.

"Nya?" She tilts her head in confusion.

Out of the trees, an orange and black pig-like creature, being chased by a small group of fur trimmed man.

"Quin!" Donnel calls.

The pig looks over to the sea and sees the boy, putting a smile on its face until one of its pursuers grabs it from behind.

"Oy! There's the wee piglet!" He says.

"Poka! Pokabu!" Quin struggles to break free.

"Ya varmits! Let 'im go!" Donnel demands trying to sound brave, but the brigands laugh at him.

Quin didn't like how they all laugh at his friend and faces his captor. "Poka!"

The brigand who is holding him raises him to his eye level. "Well lookie here. Someone doesn't like us laughing."

They all laugh again, annoying the pig-like creature even further.

Bu!" Unexpectedly, Quin releases a spiraling streams of red-orange flames at his captor, burning his face and forcing him to release Quin. The small pig takes the chance to run over to Donnel.

"Why that little–"

"Shadow Ball!" Reina calls out as she jumps off Mizu as a shadowy ball forms above Cait's mouth before releasing it at the brigands.

Seeing the ball coming at them, the brigands all move away from Donnel and Quin.

"…Great. Bandits." Chrom sighs and Donnel turns to see the rest of the Shepherds arrive onto shore.

"What's this? A little lordling come to watch over his chattel? Haw ha–" He pauses when he realizes who they are in front of him. "Aw, damn me! Sh-Shepherds!"

"That's right. So, what'll it be? Run and live? Or fight and die?"

"Rrgh!" The bandit quickly retreats as they watch him go.

Chrom sighs and looks back to the young villager. "Donnel, what were you thinking? Running off like that."

The boy then realize that he could've gotten himself killed, acting reckless like he had and bows. "A-Apologies, milord. But I couldn't let anything happen to Quin."

"Quin?"

"My pet pig, sir." Donnel gestures to the orange and black pig by his feet. The Shepherds take notice of the creature and see that it isn't any ordinary pig.

"Reina, this is a Pokémon, right?" Lissa asks the trainer.

"Yeah." She replies and gets her Zukan.

 **"Pokabu, the Fire Pig Pokémon. It can deftly dodge its foes attacks while shooting fireballs from its nose. It roasts berries before eats them."**

Donnel looks at Quin in surprise and shock. "So you are one of 'dem Pokémon too?"

"Poka!" He nods.

"I hate to interrupt, but shouldn't we go after them?" Frederick asks.

"Ah! That's right! My village is this way! Follow me, Your Sirness!" Donnel says as the group takes off in one direction.

* * *

Meanwhile

"…And you're sure a'this?" Asks the head bandit as the rest of the bandit come back to the old fort from the coast hunting that funny looking pig.

"On the grave of my sainted mother, I swear it." The brigand says. "It was Chrom and his Shepherds, and no mistake!"

"Heh heh heh. A fancy lord'll fetch a high ransom form noble folk. We'll have the little man sqealin' for mercy in no time."

"We got nothin' left to take, sirs! Please, let our children go!" A middle-aged woman pleads.

"Quit yer bleatin'!"

Then the brigand seems to have notice something about the woman. "Oy, Roddick! I think this cow's the mum of the brat what ran away."

Roddick gets a closer look at the woman. "…Say, I know this one. You're the wife of the man what broke my rib last time we were 'ere!"

"And you killed him for it, monster! I wished he'd done you first…"

"Small wonder the brat's got more brass than brain if you're his mum. Guess we'll see for ourselves when we catch him, eh?" An evil smirk forms on his face. "Maybe we'll even make ya watch as we gut him! Bwa ha ha!"

Hearing this horrifies her. "N-No! Please, he's just a boy!"

* * *

At the same time

"This here's where they've taken up camp, Your Lordshipness." Donnel says gesturing towards the rubble of the forts.

"Er… right. Thanks, Donny. Stay close, now."

Donnel blinks in surprised. "Beg pardon, milord? You don't mean…? I… I can't fight, sir! I ain't never even stuck a pig before!"

"Oh, sorry. I just assumed… I mean… Look, just stay here. You'll be fine." Chrom says.

"I wish I was strong as you sirs and madams! Kick that scum out single handed, I would!" Donnel sighs disappointing himself.

"Then you should fight and grow stronger." Chrom offers.

"But I ain't–"

"No man is born a warrior, Donny. And farm work makes for fine training – a sickle's not far from a sword after all." Chrom pauses for a moment when Frederick hands him a bronze lance from the convoy and gives the said lance to Donnel. "Bandits may be tougher that wheat, but the principle's the same."

Donnel just looks at the lance at his hand and Quin at his feel who is giving him a determined look that he didn't expect from a normal pig.

"Ng… A-All right, milord. As you say, I'm no warrior, but these're my people. I gots to do what I can!"

Robin then gets in the center of the group. "All right, everyone! Here's the plan…"

Robin relays her plan to the Shepherds and she assigns Donnel with Reina to help him with his Pokémon and Stahl.

"Mizu, use Dragon Dance then follow it with Dragon Rush!" Reina commands her Hakuryu.

"Ryu!" Mizu's body becomes surrounded in a red and pink misty aura, then a red wave of light comes up raising her Attack and Speed. Then the crystal orb on her neck glows blue and releases a blue, dragon-shaped energy that covers her body. Mizu then slams into the brigand with full force. Before the Shepherds came to the brigand's hideout, Reina returns Cait for her to rest leaving Mizu to stay out.

"Golly! Dat dragon sure packs a wallop!" Donnel exclaims, but another bandit comes after him until Quin's body becomes covered in flames and crashes into the bandit following up with Donnel stabs him in the heart.

"Poka?"

"Yes, Quin. You pack a wallop too." He assures his Pokémon and the Pokabu smiles with pride.

Reina then notice Stahl gets nicked by some archers as he cuts down some more brigands and she quickly shoots arrows at them.

"Stahl! Are you all right?" Reina asks as she sees the scratches on the cavalier from both the arrows and the axes.

"…Yeah I'm fine, Reina. No worries." Stahl assures.

"At least let Lissa or Maribelle look at you." She suggests.

"I don't want to waste their energy. We got vulneraries…" Stahl trails off.

"Look out!" One more brigand comes his way towards them until Donnel blocks it in time with his lands and Quin gives the attacker a strong Tackle to knock him on his feet for Stahl to finish him.

* * *

Meanwhile

"Skye use Air Slash!"

Suddenly saw blades of compressed air come out of nowhere and blasts the brigands who are surrounded the villagers off their feet and disarming them. Soon after, Frederick and Sumia charging in stabbing them.

"You're all safe now." Sumia tells the villagers.

"Stay close to us as we will keep you safe." Frederick adds.

All the villagers sigh in relief as Sumia faces Skye. "Nice work, Skye."

"Pidgeo!" Skye squawks happily.

At the same time, the rest of the Shepherds with Donnel and Quin continues with their charge as slowly approach to Roddick.

"Luke!" Chrom shouts causing the Erureido to duck as Chrom stabs the brigand who was about to attack Luke from behind.

Luke then stands back up and turns to the prince. "Eru."

"You're welcome. However, we need to get to that bandits' leader."

He pointed to a high hill in the distance where he sees what he thinks to be the leader surrounded by his last remaining archers.

"Time these castle whelps learned what us wild-born men can do! Shoot 'em down!" Roddick commands his archers and they unleash their arrows towards Chrom.

Immediately, Luke gets in front of his trainer as he uses Protect to defend Chrom from incoming arrows.

"Thanks." Chrom says and Luke nods.

Just as the archers are going to fire more arrows, an electric orb explodes on the archers (Electro Ball) knocking them off the hill subsequently killing them. They them see Reina riding on Mizu as Éclair lands on her shoulder with Donnel and Stahl going ahead of them and facing Roddick. Once they get there, Donnel immediately faces the bandit leader, but he hits Donnel's pot-hat with his axe and gives him a hard punch in the gut that makes him skid across the ground.

"And stay down, little piggy!" The leader shouts.

"Donny!" Reina calls out she directs Mizu towards the village boy.

Stahl gives a determined glare at Roddick and right when he is going to ride towards him, Quin already runs ahead. "Where are you going?!"

"Pokabu!" Quin shouts as he releases a spiraling streams of red-orange flames at Roddick (Ember). It is strong enough to push him back, but not enough to knock him off his feet.

"Ha! Ya'll think a lil' flamin' breeze is enough for me?" He gloats until he feels something burning throughout his body. "Wh-What did that lil' pig chop do to me?!"

As Reina helps the village boy up, Donnel looks in confusion. "What just happened?"

The Pokémon Trainer smiles slightly. "That was a status effect from your Pokabu's move, Ember. If that move hits an opponent, there's a slight chance he'd burn them."

Donnel then grabs his spear with determination. "Now's ma chance!" He then runs over to his Pokabu's side and gives him a smile. "Thanks, Quin."

"Poka!"

Roddick still feels pain from the status effect. "Y-You think you can stop me?!"

"I sure can! Get ready!"

The two of them cross weapons as Donnel has the upper hand with Roddick being having flames by Burn, he manages to knock the bandit over and stands on top of him.

"This is for mah home! Yeeee-haw!" Donnel exclaims as she drives his lance through his heart killing him instantly.

* * *

~Later~

"We did it! We're rid of them bandits for good and all!" Donnel cheers as Quin jumps into his arms in happiness.

"A worthy victory, Donny. You fought well." Chrom praises.

Then they hear some footsteps and turn around to see Sumia and Frederick leading Donnel's mother towards them.

"Ma! Ma, it's me!" Donnel let go Quin and runs right into his mother's arms, relieving to see that she is safe.

"Oh, Donny! Thank goodness your safe! I was worried to death boy!" Donnel's mother says in between sobs. "But how did you manage to get away?"

"Thank Quin, Ma. He gave me a distraction, so ah can get help from these folks." Donnel explains.

Poka!" Quin greets.

His mother looks at the orange and black pig for a moment before turning to her son. "Donny… is this the reason ya'll been heading to the fields more than usual?"

"Heh heh… yes." He confesses awkwardly. In truth, he kept Quin a secret from her so she wouldn't freak out by his looks. However, it seems that she sees the intelligence in Quin that wasn't from a normal pig, so she bends down some and gives him a soft pat on the head.

"Thank you, Quin…" She says softly and turns to the Shepherds. "And I can't thank all of you enough for savin' by son and our village, milord." She then looks at her son. "Donny! Where are your manners?! Take a knee and thank his Lordliness!" She scolds earning some chuckles from the others.

"Er, I can't begin to repay all what you done for us, sir! Th-Thank you!" Donnel bows at Chrom.

"You let the charge, Donny. We just picked up the stragglers. Hone your potential and use it to keep this village safe."

"W-Wait! Please!"

"Something wrong?" Chrom asks raising a brow.

"I has a request, sir. If it pleases your Graceliness… Take me with you, milord! Lemme be a Shepherd like you! I'm good with livestock, I am! Please, sir!" Donnel begs.

His mother looks at him in shock. "Hush now, you fool boy!"

Donnel however, turns to her looking her straight in the eye. "I want to hone my… whatever he said. I wanna keep this place safe! I never thought I was good for nothing more than shovelin' dirt… But milord showed me there's more I can do. More I needs to be doing!"

"You needs to be knowin' your place, boy! A farmhand's no fit for a royal-"

"Actually, we'd be thrilled to have him. "Chrom interrupts. "The Shepherds need every good man we find, and your son fought bravely. And he won't be alone, I'm pretty sure Quin would want to come along as well, am I right?"

"Pokabu!" The Pokémon in question nods.

"Y-You're very kind to say as much, Your Lordshipness, but…" Donnel's mother sighs. "Well, you're a grown man now, Donny. I s'ppose you can make up your mind."

"Aw, Ma…"

"You just come home safe, love. I'll see that the village is still standin' when you return a hero." She looks at Quin in the eye and pats his head again. "You take good care of him, okay?"

"Poka!" He nods.

She gets up and walks back to the village. After taking several steps, she looks back and sees Donnel and Quin still where they are. "Well?! Off with you, then! Glory's waitin' boys!"

"I aint fightin' for glory, Ma. I'm fightin' for you! But if I do find some glory, I'll be sure to bring it home for you!" He declares, giving his mother one last hug before his leave.

"Just come home alive, Donny." She whispers hugging him back. She then feels something rubbing her leg and looks down to see Quin comforting her. "You promise to keep my boy safe, no matter what."

Po ka!" Quin looks at her in sheer determination, placing one of his front legs on his chest as if to say, 'Leave it to me!'

With the Shepherds newest recruits, Donnel and Quin, Reina sends Cait back out to re-freeze their ice path back to Ylisstol.

* * *

Pokabu – Tepig


	8. Sister

Chapter 8: Sister

A few days after Donnel and Quin joined the Shepherds, both of them have joined training with Reina and the other Shepherds paired Pokémon as they go up north.

"When it comes to Type compatibilities, you have to pay attention to their advantages and disadvantages." Reina says.

"What do you mean by that?" Donnel asks.

"All of you know the basics of different elements weak against like water puts out fire, right?" She asks, and everyone nods. "It's the same thing but in a greater scale. Pokémon who have different types from each other have disadvantages or advantage."

"What if we face a Type that is disadvantage to our Pokémon?" Robin asks.

"That's where the Moves come in. In each Pokémon they can use different Type of move that they are able to use. For example, Cait is a Normal Type and can use Double Slap- a Normal Type, Attract- another Normal Type, Ice Beam- an Ice Type, and Shadow Ball- a Ghost Type. Also, if you ended up with a Pokémon with two Types, figure out a Type that is weak against it."

"How very interesting." Miriel says.

"So we need to watch out for a Type that is strong against our Pokémon?" Chrom asks.

"As a precaution, yes." Reina answers.

~Later~  
A nearby village

Just a small distance away from the Shepherds, there is a merchant with a troubled look on his face talking to a soldier.

"Blast… Here is seems all hop is lost. Still, hold fast. I'll treat you wounds…" He says to the soldier.

The soldier clenches his fists and groans in pain. "Ngh… It's too late…"

Chrom then rushes over to the merchant who is treating the soldier. "What's happened here?!" He asks.

"Nothing but death ahead, travelers. I'd turn back if I were you… Whatever your business here, it will have to wait. Bandits have blocked the road ahead. They're demanding a king's ransom in illicit tolls for all who wish to pass."

"They think to profiteer on refugees? Despicable."

"Our caravan's livelihood is at stake. We'll do no business in this country now…"

Frederick then walks closer to Chrom and the merchant. "The flow of goods must be secured, milord, or the people are likely to starve."

"Then we'll secure it. You and your caravan can wait here. We'll let you know when it's safe." Chrom says in a determined tone.

Meanwhile, away from the village, a pair of bandits who are quite similar to each other are leading their group to a village.

"Vincent, darling?" One of the two calls.

"Yes, Victor?" The other asks.

"I daresay we've come across a village, Vincent."

"And what a thriving little hamlet it is, Victor!"

"Indeed. I think it'll make a fine bit of pillaging, Vincent."

"It most certainly will, Victor."

"Well, then. I believe it's my turn to do the honors, isn't it, Vincent?"

"I do believe it is, Victor! Oh, but try not to kill them all this time, hmm? It tends to cut into profits." With that, Vincent walks away, letting his partner take care of things.

As Victor leads his group to the village, a red-haired girl is blocking his path with a sword in hand.

"Hat to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid this village is closed." She says with a smug.

Victor smirks back at her. "Well, aren't you a fetching young thing? And fetching young things fetch good coin. In fact, the gold you net from slavers will build Vincent a fine home!"

"Careful, love. Us traders are known to make some very deep cuts." The girl says unfazed at what the bandit leader said. Behind the young woman, a girl who is younger than her, pops up from behind. "Um… Miss Anna?"

"Oh, don't worry about a thing! I've got this under control. You just stay back with your little critter friends and everything will be all right!"

The girl looks down at the small canine-like creature. Its body is mostly blue and black with a yellow collar, rounded bumps on the backs of its forepaws, and a black mask-like with red eyes. "Rio.."

"I know. We've got to help out. Come on, Lu, the least we can do is defend this village."

Meanwhile, a small creature comes out the bushes when he sees it is relatively safe and carefully bolts out of there.

The creature has circular, light blue eyes, wide teeth, and spherical hands and feet that lack digits. He is covered with a yellow cloak that gives it a triangular outline. The coat is rimmed with an orange stripe and has three orange diamond markings on the back.

As he carefully escapes a bandit spots him and points to it to the others. "Hey! There's something going away!"

This causes the creature to panic and quickly runs away from them.

* * *

A little bit away, the Shepherds rush over to the village that the bandits are heading to.

"Chrom! There's someone trying to fight off the bandits by herself!" Lissa calls out pointing ahead.

Frederick sees what she meant and shakes his head. "Just what is she thinking? She will have no chance on her own."

"Then let's give her a hand, shall we?" Chrom speaks up. "Robin, Luke, Drago, can you join me?"

"Reido!"

"Mozu!"

"Did you have to ask?" Robin says.

"I'm coming too." Reina adds as Éclair gives a determined look.

"Okay. Frederick, can you, Sully and Ricken cover us on the other side of the formation?"

The three nods as they go their separate ways. The latter group goes to take care of some bandits coming from the hill only to gasp in shock seeing that they are chasing a small creature.

"Another Pokémon? Why would they be chasing it?" Frederick questions.

"I think for them, they know what Pokémon can capable of and could sell them off for a high price." Sully theorizes.

Seeing the creature stops and turns around before firing a beam of white wind with shards of ice in it at the bandits. However, one manages to avoid the shards and raise his axe at the frightened creature when Ricken sends a blast of Wind magic at the bandit.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?!" Ricken shouts at the brigand and Sully stabs him, killing him instantly.

The young mage turns around to face the creature who is staring at him.

"It's okay now. You're safe." Ricken calmly says, hoping they didn't scare it too badly.

Then the creature jumps up and down flittering its feet. "Yuki!"

Meanwhile

"That peddler woman was fighting to protect the village, you say?" The village elder says to Stahl as he, Lissa, Donnel and his Pokabu manage to warn the village in time to warn them about the danger and saw the woman on the way. "That kind of warmth is more than welcome in these cold lands. Here. Please use this to heal her if she's hurt."

"Thank you, sir." Shahl says as he takes a healing concoction from the elder before he closed the gates for safe keeping.

"Incoming!" Lissa calls out seeing more brigands heading their way.

"I got 'em! Quin, knock them down with Flame Charge!" Donnel commands.

"Poka!" Quin shouts as he charges them with his body covered in flames and crashes the brigands like bowling pin.

"All right, Quin!" Donnel cheers.

"Do that later!" Stahl snaps them to focus as he stabs another bandit with his sword.

"Right!"

* * *

Chrom, Robin, Reina, and their Pokémon have to cut through a couple more opponents, but they finally reached the red-haired woman.

"Milady! Are you hurt? Do you need…" Chrom trails off realizing she handled most of them. "Oh. You're… fine. Well, I guess it was silly of me to be worried, eh?

"Yes, but it's sweet all the same, handsome." The woman giggles.

"You seem to have things well in hand, but I hope you won't mind a little company? Just until we sort these rogues out."

"Aw, you ARE worried! That's adorable! I welcome the assistance."

"Thank you very much." The girl says.

"I knew it, Meena!" Reina calls out.

"AH! Reina!"

"Do you know her?" Chrom asks.

"Yes."

"Lade!" Luke warns getting their attention as they see more axe wielders.

"Luke, get close and use Slash!"

"You too, Drago and use Headbutt!" Robin commands as well.

One of Luke's arms glows white and slashes the them and Drago slams his head at a brigand.

"Oooh~! I see you got yourselves some of those fancy animals too!" The merchant woman says with an odd gleam in her eyes.

At the corner of her eye, Meena spots a bandit sneaking behind the red-haired woman. "Miss Anna! Behind-!"

"Éclair, use Iron Tail!"

"Pika!" Éclair jumps off Reina's shoulder as her tail glows. "Chu… Pika!" She slams her tail at a bandit who is sneaking behind the red-haired merchant and an arrow flies pass her head, piercing into the bandit's chest. The woman turns around to see the dead bandit.

"Are you okay?" The merchant turns back around as Reina lowering her bow down.

"Thanks to you I am."

Reina shakes her head. "You should thank Meena. If it wasn't for her call, you would've been killed."

"You're right."

At the same time, Chrom and Luke make their way over the brigands' leader.

"Give it up now! I was born a Victor, and victory is mine!" Victor shouts.

"Never! We will defend these innocent villagers." Chrom retorts and rushes in with Luke to fight the bandit off.

Chrom aims for a hanging left as Victor swings his axe at the prince, but Luke blocks the axe using Slash. Chrom then closes in and swiftly dodges the next bow that Victor about to land and then the prince slices Victor's neck, leaving a trail of blood drip.

"I… I see an open field… Vincent… Such beautiful flowers…" He breaths his last words.

As the Shepherds are finishing up, Chrom walks back over to the same merchant he had talked earlier. "Many good thanks, sir! I'd fear our goods would spoil before reaching market. I'm sure the townsfolk will be happier for the fresh food as well."

The red-haired woman comes over to the prince. "It seems you've done a kindness to my fellow merchants. My name's Anna, some folks like to call be the Secret Seller. Next time we meet, I'll be sure to cut you an extra-special deal."

Chrom couldn't help but feel he herd of the title before. "Secret Seller? That sounds… familiar."

"I'd tell you more, but then it wouldn't be much of a secret, now would it? Until next time, happy shopping, and may the gods of the open road keep you!"

"Uh, Miss Anna, are we just going to keep going?" Meena asks with her companion in her arms.

"Yep! More places to go, more goods we'll find!"

"Excuse me, do you really know Reina?" Chrom asks looking at her peculiar clothing to the canine creature in her arms.

The girl has short and bobbed, brown hair with a side-swept bangs and wears a dress with white top with blue skirt and high tops shoes. She also carries an aqua ribbon purse over her shoulder.

"Yes! I'm…"

"Her name is Meena." Reina says walking towards them with the Shepherds. "She's my little sister."

The Shepherds blink a few times and then shout, "HUH?!"

"Little sister?!" Lissa repeats.

"You didn't tell us that you have a sister!" Sumia says.

"You didn't ask." Reina replies.

"Is this true?" Chrom asks Meena.

"Yes. Reina is my older sister."

"Then are you like Reina, a Pokémon trainer?" Robin asks.

"A little bit, but unlike my sister, I don't like battling."

"Meena, I know I told you this before, it's your choice to battle or not. You're you. It's your choice to do it or not." Reina reminds her sister.

"Sister… You're right."

Anna, who watched the two sisters interact, taps Meena's shoulder. "Well then, I'll be on my way. Since you found someone you know. There's no need to tag along with me." She says gleefully.

"You're not coming?" Meena asks.

The red-haired woman shakes her head. "Nope. I'm a merchant you see, and where there's good and gold, that's where I'll be!" She waves goodbye at them and heads her way with the other merchants.

"Well Shepherds, it's already dark. How about we restock in the village and spend the night?" Chrom suggests turning to the others.

"Yay! We're not camping!" Lissa cheers.

"Yuki!"

Everyone jumps and looks down to see the same small creature that Ricken saved.

"That's Yukiwarashi!" Reina says and takes out her Zukan.

 **"Yukiwarashi, the Snow Hat Pokémon. Yukiwarashi is said to bring great wealth to any home that it lives in."**

"We found this little guy running around the battle field and been sticking to Ricken's side too."

"Looks like that Yukiwarashi took a liking for Ricken." Reina guesses.

"What?! Me?" Ricken points to himself.

"Isn't it fine? Yukiwarashi chose you after all."

Ricken looks down and see the Snow Hat Pokémon staring at him. He then kneels down at the Pokémon.

"Do you want to come with us?" Ricken asks causing the Pokémon to smile.

"Yuki!" He says as Yukiwarashi jumps up and down.

The Shepherds all laugh from the Snow Hat Pokémon as Reina and Meena look at each other before both of them smile.

* * *

Yukiwarashi – Snorunt


	9. Refugees and the Merchant Anna

Chapter 9: Abandoned Villagers and the Merchant Anna

After Ricken gets a Yukiwarashi, nicknamed Whittaker, as his partner, they continue journey to north. With Ricken and Whittaker join with the other Shepherds for Reina's training, they slowly getting the hang of Pokémon battles.

As they trudge through the snow-covered path, Frederick notices something and alerts Chrom. "Milord, look! Risen!"

Chrom frowns upon seeing where the knight is pointing to. "Ugh, and there's a village just ahead. Come on!"

* * *

At the village entrance, there are a few people knocking on the door, begging to be let in.

"Help! Heeelp! Open the gates! The dead walk the earth! If you've any kindness in you, open the gates! We're from Woodham, up the road! You KNOW us! Please, open the– Gods, no. …No! They're here! Aaaiiieeeeee!"

Nearby, the Shepherds see this as they hear one of the villagers from outside the gate screams.

"Hmm… The townsfolk of this village are renowned for their hospitality. How could they turn away refugees fearing for their lives?" Frederick questions.

"Let's worry about saving those lives first. We can ask questions later." Chrom says and turns to Robin. "Do you have some ideas, Robin?"

"Yes. Chrom, I want you to talk with the villagers out there and Frederick, go to the village to see what's wrong while we fight off the Risen."

"Got it. All right, you heard her! Let's go!" Chrom orders and they spread out on the battlefield.

As Frederick quickly rides to the village, he strikes every Risen in his path and reaches to the village.

"Excuse me! I am from the Shepherds! Open the gates!" Frederick shouts.

The gates open revealing an elderly man. "Is it really? Shepherds are always welcome here. Please take this with you." He gives Frederick a bow and arrows.

Frederick accepts the items and asks. "Why have you turn refugees away when they were here?"

"We're a peaceful town, sir. We have no weapons, nor any want for them. We survive by barring our gates to those who might bring us harm, friend or foe. Harsh as it may be, I can't have my people dying on account of other folks' problems…"

Frederick couldn't believe what the elder said. The fact that they knew there were refugees who wants to go into the village, but they ignored them just to that they don't want to get involve with the war.

Meanwhile, Chrom and the other Shepherds fight off the Risen as Chrom goes to the one of the three refugees.

"Are you all right?!" Chrom asks.

"Oh, thank goodness you've come! Are you here to help us?"

"We'll hold them off! Run!"

"U-Understood! If we make it out alive, I'll repay you! I swear!"

Luke notices something at the corner of his eye and gets behind of the prince when a Risen is about to strike him from behind, but the Erllade blocks the attack and pushes the Risen.

"Thank you, Luke." Chrom says and Luke looks back, nods.

~Afterwards~

The Shepherds gathers back together after wiping the Risen away and now Chrom stands in front of the three refugees.

"I've not the words to thank you, nor the treasure to pay you, but… here. Take this." The three villagers each gives him three different items. "I didn't think people like you still existed. I'll… I'll never forget this."

"Do you suppose the village will continue to bar its gates to refugees?" Frederick asks the prince.

"As long as they view the Risen as someone else's problem, then yes." Chrom replies.

"They claim to love peace… Yet the uneasy peace found behind a barricade is nothing I'd want. Peace begins when the fighting is over and the barricades come down. I pray they can see the truth of that before it's too late…"

* * *

Chapter 9:

After Ricken gets a Yukiwarashi, nicknamed Whittaker, as his partner, they continue journey to north. With Ricken and Whittaker join with the other Shepherds for Reina's training, they slowly getting the hang of Pokémon battles.

As they trudge through the snow-covered path, Frederick notices something and alerts Chrom. "Milord, look! Risen!"

Chrom frowns upon seeing where the knight is pointing to. "Ugh, and there's a village just ahead. Come on!"

At the village entrance, there are a few people knocking on the door, begging to be let in.

"Help! Heeelp! Open the gates! The dead walk the earth! If you've any kindness in you, open the gates! We're from Woodham, up the road! You KNOW us! Please, open the– Gods, no. …No! They're here! Aaaiiieeeeee!"

Nearby, the Shepherds see this as they hear one of the villagers from outside the gate screams.

"Hmm… The townsfolk of this village are renowned for their hospitality. How could they turn away refugees fearing for their lives?" Frederick questions.

"Let's worry about saving those lives first. We can ask questions later." Chrom says and turns to Robin. "Do you have some ideas, Robin?"

"Yes. Chrom, I want you to talk with the villagers out there and Frederick, go to the village to see what's wrong while we fight off the Risen."

"Got it. All right, you heard her! Let's go!" Chrom orders and they spread out on the battlefield.

As Frederick quickly rides to the village, he strikes every Risen in his path and reaches to the village.

"Excuse me! I am from the Shepherds! Open the gates!" Frederick shouts.

The gates open revealing an elderly man. "Is it really? Shepherds are always welcome here. Please take this with you." He gives Frederick a bow and arrows.

Frederick accepts the items and asks. "Why have you turn refugees away when they were here?"

"We're a peaceful town, sir. We have no weapons, nor any want for them. We survive by barring our gates to those who might bring us harm, friend or foe. Harsh as it may be, I can't have my people dying on account of other folks' problems…"

Frederick couldn't believe what the elder said. The fact that they knew there were refugees who wants to go into the village but they ignored them just to that they don't want to get involve with the war.

Meanwhile, Chrom and the other Shepherds fight off the Risen as Chrom goes to the one of the three refugees.

"Are you all right?!" Chrom asks.

"Oh, thank goodness you've come! Are you here to help us?"

"We'll hold them off! Run!"

"U-Understood! If we make it out alive, I'll repay you! I swear!"

Luke notices something at the corner of his eye and gets behind of the prince when a Risen is about to strike him from behind, but the Erllade blocks the attack and pushes the Risen.

"Thank you, Luke." Chrom says and Luke looks back, nods.

~Afterwards~

The Shepherds gathers back together after wiping the Risen away and now Chrom stands in front of the three refugees.

"I've not the words to thank you, nor the treasure to pay you, but… here. Take this." The three villagers each gives him three different items. "I didn't think people like you still existed. I'll… I'll never forget this."

"Do you suppose the village will continue to bar its gates to refugees?" Frederick asks the prince.

"As long as they view the Risen as someone else's problem, then yes." Chrom replies.

"They claim to love peace… Yet the uneasy peace found behind a barricade is nothing I'd want. Peace begins when the fighting is over and the barricades come down. I pray they can see the truth of that before it's too late…"

~A few days later~

After couple nights of camping in the wild and decides to make a trip back to Ylisstol. As they are preparing, Reina notices a merchant who is nearby them. When she and Chrom who also notices him, they hear the merchant muttering something.

"Oh, that poor girl."

"What's wrong?" Chrom asks.

"Oh! Sirs, please! Help her! A young merchant girl is being set upon by bandits!"

"We're on our way." Reina replies and Chrom turns back to the group.

"All of you! There's a change of plans! It seems there are still more bandits left over. Let's take care of them before we head back to Ylisstol!" He shouts.

When they reach to the area the merchant spoke of, they spot the girl from the other day a bit away from them, surrounded by bandits.

"Got a plan, Robin?" Chrom asks.

"Some of us has to get to the merchant!" The tactician says. "Sumia! You, Skye, Chrom and Luke got to her! Reina, back them up especially archers! The rest of us will take out as much as we can!"

"And what about the leader?" Reina asks.

"Whoever reaches him, try and stall him for as long as you can for reinforcements to assist you!"

Meanwhile…

"You! We have business, you and I, and I aim to settle the debt. Victor will be avenged today!" Says a very familiar bandit, Vincent, who is behind several other men to the merchant girl.

"Oh, dear. Have we met?" The merchant girl asks, tilting her head.

"Playing dumb won't save you, girly. The gold you net from the slavers will built Victor the finest grave in the land!"

"Careful love. Prices aren't the only thing we can cut in half." She replies with a smirk.

Back at the Shepherds

Following the female tactician orders, the group split and went to do their jobs.

With Reina shooting each archer who are aiming at Sumia, Éclair sends her Thunderbolt and Iron Tail at the enemy who approaches her from behind. When Reina lays her eyes on the merchant girl, she spots something small and white floating by her side.

"Isn't that…!" Reina mutters.

Chrom jumps off Sumia's pegasus, as did Luke, to attempt to assist the red-head merchant. To their surprise, they see how she is able to protect herself with a floating key ring.

"Hello there, handsome! Am I being rescued?" She asks.

"Well, that was the plan, but you seem to be holding up just fine." Chrom says looking at the pike of dead bodies around them. "Can you two still fight?"

"I could stand to open a few more rogues, sure. Or locks, for that matter."

"A thief, is it?"

"Locksmith, thank you very much! But yes. Doors or chest, I'll have it smiling wide in a trice. And it looks like there bandits have quite the hoard built up." She grins deviously, gesturing to the chests protected by some of the brigands.

"…Huh. Well then, I think we're in business."

The Shepherds are beating down all the brigands. As they fight, the merchant they were to save and her Pokémon partner take some opportunities to open up chests and collect whatever good were in them. The key ring-like creature in questions helps her to unlock a chest, revealing gold bars.

"Looks like we hit the jackpot today~" The female merchant sings to her Pokémon.

"Cleffy!" It nods in reply.

"And all that's left is…" They look over to the fuming Vincent, who is the only brigand left.

"You stand no chance! I'm a conqueror by name and conqueror by nature!" He claims.

"Oh. I'm so scared~" The girl sarcastically says in a cutesy tone and her expression suddenly goes devious. "Shall we strip him of his fortune, Lucy?"

Her Pokémon looks at the guy and nods at the question. "Cleffy." The next thing anyone know, Lucy's body glows light blue and emits silver colored sound waves that spread out to Vincent. The attack causes the bandit to cover his ears in great pain.

"A–H! What is that thing?!" He screams.

"A chance." The merchant leaps over her partner and goes to strike him. Vincent somehow blocks the attack and pushes her back. Lucy stops her attack as she sees her master being pushed over to her, moving away to avoid being landed on.

"That was a dirty trick." He accuses. "I'm going to do more than just killing you! I'll send you to oblivion! And your little creature too!"

"We'd rather not~" Lucy suddenly fires a light blue orb energy at the surprised Vincent, hitting him at the face.

"Ahh! Not my face! My beautiful face!"

"Time to end you!" The merchant girl leaps into the air and brings her sword down. Her Pokémon partner moves away at the last second, having Vincent take the full force of the attack.

"I… I see your face, Victor… No… No, wait… That's me…" Vincent breathes his last breath.

After the battle, the Shepherds regroup with the merchant girl and Lucy.

"Thanks for your help. The name's Anna. Some folks like to call me the Secret Seller. And this cute, little one is Lucy." She introduces.

"Cleffy!" Lucy greets.

Reina takes out her Zukan and points it at the Pokémon.

 **"Cleffy, the Key Ring Pokémon. Cleffy loves to collect keys and will confront opponents with a fierce jingle of their collection."**

"Yes, I remember you." Chrom says.

"But your Cleffy on the other hand…"

Anna pause for the moment and looks at the prince carefully. "Oh? …Mmm, I'm afraid I'm drawing a blank.

"Huh? Oh, then I must be… I'm sorry. I thought you…" Chrom apologizes but stops at mid-sentence. "Wait, what am I saying? I KNOW we help you. I'm sure of it!"

Anna's eyes sparkle with realization. "Oh! Hee hee! You must have met one of my sisters."

"Sisters? Gods, you look identical."

"Yes, there's a strong family resemblance. Oh, and we're all traveling merchants." Anna adds.

Chrom looks at her, a bit dumfounded by the information. "…With the same name?"

"Yes, actually. That's part of the secret!" Anna puffs her chest out as if proud that she and her sisters are using the same name.

"Cleffy!" Lucy also does the same action, seemingly just as proud.

"Ahaha… I should've known…" Reina says, smiling nervously.

"What do you mean?" Chrom asks.

"Let's just say there are some people back in mine and Reina's world who are the same way…" Meena replies.

"Oooh~ Tell me more." Anna says with interest.

"Your family gathering must be chaotic." Chrom points out.

"True, but aren't everyone's? Still, I can't just send you on your way of helping TWO of us. So let me come along and aid you in return. I can be quite useful. You'll never make a loss with me in tow–I guarantee it!" Lucy also agrees.

"You going to need all the help you can get, Chrom." Reina points out.

"I suppose so." Chrom says with sweatdrop at the fact that both of them are going to be the new recruits.

"Now since that settles it, let's go back to Ylisstol!" Reina shouts and everyone happily agrees to the idea and starts to return back to Ylisstol.


	10. First Pokémon Battle

Chapter 10: First Pokémon Battle

As Chrom, Robin, and Luke are at the front lines, they notice that the road they have been to before when they departed a few days back now have several differences as they are getting closer to Ylisstol. For example, sprouts of unfamiliar trees growing out of the ground and Pokémon (flocks of Yayakoma, Shikijika, Kemusso, and Caterpie) that weren't around before.

"I've been down this road several times, but all of this wasn't here." Chrom says in a worried tone.

"Lade." Luke also agrees.

"Yeah." Robin agrees. "It's only a matter of time before someone else notices."

Chrom couldn't help but agree. Emmeryn wants to keep the Pokémon a secret for Ryo's safely, but with more and more Pokémon appearing from the woodworks, it will be impossible to cover this up.

"Um, Chrom." Chrom and Robin turns around to see Meena behind them.

"What is it, Meena?" The prince asks and Meena brings her hand towards Chrom before opening them, showing a marble. "What is it?"

"This is a stone specifically for Luke. Erlladnite." Meena explains as Chrom takes the stone.

"And that stone is called Mega Stone." Reina adds.

"Mega Stone?" Robin repeats.

"Stop! Thieves!"

Everyone stops at the edge of the capital and they see three creatures running off.

"Looks like this conversation is going to have to wait." Chrom says as he pockets the Mega Stone.

Meanwhile

Exalt Emmeryn is visiting the townspeople of Ylisstol again as the store owner is preoccupied with her presence when some strange creatures steal some produce. He only notice that one of the creatures knocked over a vase. Luckily the Shepherds arrive and stop in front of the thieves.

"Hold it right there!" Frederick orders causing the three to stop and begin to growl at them.

One of them is a brown lion cub with red fur in its head in a mohawk-style. Another is a dog with a mustache and blue fur on his back, acting as a cloak. And the third is a medium-size cat with its upper half is mostly black, while its lower half is mostly red-orange and hanging from its neck is a yellow and orange bell. All three of them have sacks in their mouths.

"They don't belong to you. Give those back." Chrom tells them.

The three continues to growl at the Shepherds when Reina and Meena notice something about one of the sacks they have.

"Meena." Reina whispers and Meena nods her head before Reina approaches to the thieves.

"Reina!" Robin calls.

Reina continues on and stops in front of the three Pokémon as she kneels down.

"It's fine now." She calmly tells the three and takes out a flute from her bag.

"An instrument?" Chrom questions.

Reina puts the mouthpiece of the flute by her mouth and begins to play it.

(Insert Spirit Away - One Summer's Day Flute Cover)

As she plays a song on her flute, the three Pokémon slowly calm down as their hostility goes away. While the Shepherds minus Meena, Éclair and Lu are surprised at this as some of them are enjoying the song.

"Whoa…" Sully trails off.

"Ah… What a wonderful melody." Virion says.

"Yeah." Lissa agrees.

"Look at them." Robin points out as the three Pokémon are sitting down with the sacks on the floor in between them and Reina. "They calmed down."

"My sister and I…" Meena speaks up. "…we have the ability to calm down any Pokémon who have hostility in them with music and songs. This is one of the songs that my sister can play."

When Reina finished the last note, she moves the flute away from her mouth as Lissa gives her a round of applause.

"That was amazing, Reina!" She exclaims as Reina turns to her.

"Thanks." Reina says and turns back to the three Pokémon. "Can you show me what's in that sack?" She asks, pointing one of the sacks.

The dog Pokémon pushes the sack by its head and Reina opens it before taking out herbs.

"Those are…" Chrom trails off.

"Medical herbs." Meena finishes and Reina puts back the herbs in the sack.

"Can you take us to where your friends are?"

~Later~

As the three Pokémon leads the Shepherds down the path to the woods, Reina gets her Zukan out.

 **"Shishiko, the Lion Cub Pokémon. Shishiko must leave the pride and fend for itself in order to grow up strong."**

 **"Herderrier, the Loyal Dog Pokémon. Herferrie's hard black fur softens its opponent's attack like armor."**

 **"Nyaheat, the Fire Cat Pokémon. It boasts powerful front legs. With a single punch, it can bend an iron bar over."**

"You do realize that either way, we have to bring them in, right?" Miriel asks.

"True as that may be, if we tell the people that their intentions are for good, they will understand and Emmeryn will lighten their punishment." Chrom points out.

"Isn't this why we're following them like this?" Reina finishes.

The three Pokémon stops their tracks, the Shepherds are surprised to see a big tree. At the base of the tree, they could see a dog standing in front of the hallow part of the tree. The dog has bright red-orange fur, black stripes and a tuft of cream fur on its head.

"Reina, is that another Pokémon?" Chrom whispery asks.

"Yeah." Reina replies and holds her Zukan out.

 **"Gardie, the Puppy Pokémon. While loyal to its master, Gardie will drive away enemies by barking and biting."**

Herderrier, Shishiko, and Nyaheat walk up to the Puppy Pokémon and tells it that the humans behind them are good and asks it to allow them to go in. Gardie then looks at the Shepherds for the moment and then allows them to go in.

"Thank you." Meena says and they enter the hollowed tree revealing a pink rabbit-like creature, another is a white and a small, light green fairy holding several flowers taking care of a red and black bird as the bird has a pained look.

"Those are…" Reina trails off using her Zukan.

 **"Tabunne, the Hearing Pokémon. Tabunne can assess a Pokémon's overall physical condition and mood using its ears."**

 **"Cuwawa, The Posy Pokémon. It releases a relaxing scent from the flower it picks. The scent has a healing effect and can cure status condition."**

 **"Odoridori, Baile Style. The Dancing Pokémon. It beats its wings together to create fire. As it moves in the steps of its beautiful dance. It bathes opponents in intense heat."**

"But something is wrong." Sumia points out.

"Yeah." Reina agrees as she and Meena kneel down and approach the Pokémon. The healers stands aside before Reina touches its forehead. "This is bad…"

"What's wrong?" Lissa asks.

"This Pokémon is running on a high fever." Reina says causing the Shepherds to get shocked from this revelation. "Meena, gets the things ready."

"Already on it." Meena says as she has her bag down and already opening her bag, revealing many glass jars with each different herbs inside as Reina gets certain berries out.

Meena then takes out a mortar, pestle, and a glass jar with a herb inside. Then Reina passes the berries to her sister and Meena puts the berries into the mortar and starts to crush them together using the pestle before she pours the mashed up berries into a glass kettle with a long nozzle.

"Reina." Meena calls as she passes the kettle to Reina and she puts the nozzle by Odoridori's beak.

"Here. This will helps get your strength back." Reina tells it as the Dancing Pokémon opens her beak and drinks the mashed berries as Reina helps her.

At the same time, Meena crushes the herb in the mortar and puts the pestle down before moving towards Odoridori as Reina puts the kettle down.

"Odoridori, open your beak." Meena instructs and the Dancing Pokémon opens her beak a bit and then Meena gives the medicine to her.

For the moment, no one move and then Odoridori shots her eyes open and immediately stands up as she chirps aloud, relieving everyone.

"What a relief." Robin says.

"But is that Pokémon okay? Since it got up quickly." Lissa asks.

"It's all right. The medicine we used is the herb from our home that gives a quick recovery." Reina explains as Odoridori dances the flamenco.

Meena then turns to Herderrier, Shishiko, and Nyaheat. "As for you three, all through your intentions are good, you still have to make up for stealing all this stuff." The three lower their heads and nod. Tabunne and Flaette go over to her and seem to asking her to let them off easy since they had good intentions when they stole the things.

"Whatever will happen to them is not up to us." Reina tells them. "It's up to the Exalt. And knowing her, when she hears about why they stole, she will lighten their punishment."

"She's right." Chrom agrees. "Knowing Emm, she'll probably let them off the hook with a pat on the back."

Hearing this ease the wild Pokémon.

"But even so, how are we going to explain to the townspeople about what happened today?" Maribelle brings up.

No one answers the questions since they wanted the rumors about Pokémon to remain as rumors, but what happened today will be difficult.

"I guess we'll have to tell the truth." Reina says to their shock. "At this rate, it won't be long before the whole world has Pokémon."

Later, the Shepherds return to Ylisstol with the Pokémon by their side, both their own and the wild, prepared to reveal the truth about these Magical Creatures.

"These are the rumored Magical Creatures?" The shop keeper asks as he sees Herderrier, Shishiko, and Nyaheat who stole from.

The civilians around them watch as the wild Pokémon bow before the shopkeeper asking for forgiveness.

"That's right. However, they are not called 'Magical Creatures', they're called Pokémon." Reina corrects and then turns to the rest of the civilians. "People of Ylisstol! It's time for you all to know! The creatures that have been appearing in this world, the creatures you all called 'Magical Creatures' are Pokémon! They are all native creatures from the land where my sister and I came from!" Meena stands by her side as she says that. "As you may know, Pokémon comes in all forms and sizes. They all have great and magical powers and are just as smart as us or even smarter. However, that doesn't necessarily make them all extremely dangerous. Pokémon are also quite harmless unless if provoked like wild animals."

"So then… they're friendly?" A child asks.

"Yeah."

"Pikachu." Éclair says as she jumps to the child's shoulder and nuzzles the child's cheek.

The next hour is spend explaining to the people of Ylisstol about Pokémon. During that time, Emmeryn comes with Philia, wondering what the commotion is about and pays for the things the wild Pokémon took in the place of the Shepherds, despite her brother insisting that they would pay instead.

"Hey Chrom." Reina calls.

"What is it?" Chrom asks.

"Let's demonstrate a Pokémon Battle!"

"Right here!?" Robin asks.

"Now that you mention it, having a Pokémon Battle in the streets is too small. We need a bigger space."

"Then you can have one in the training ground at the castle." Emmeryn suggests.

"Is that wise, Emm?" Chrom asks.

"Yes."

"Then let's go!"

A while later, the Shepherds arrive in the training area of the castle with the group of citizens following them. The training soldiers there cease their activities at the sight of so many people in the castle.

"Your majesty, why are you all here?" One of them asks the exalt.

"Reina insisted on demonstrating a Pokémon Battle from her world. To do that, they need a big open space to work with." She calmly answers.

"Clear the area." Philia orders and at once, all the soldiers go to the sidelines where the citizens and the Shepherds are leaving Reina and Meena in the training area.

"This looks big enough." Meena sas.

"It does. It's a perfect place for a Pokémon Battle." Reina agrees and looks over at Chrom. "Chrom! Can you be my opponent?"

"Me? Are you sure?" He asks.

"Yep! And this is a great chance to get some experience from this." Reina replies with a smirk.

"All right." Chrom says and looks at Luke. "Let's go, Luke."

"Lade." Luke nods and both of them walk to one side of the training area with Reina walking to the other side and

Meena looks at both sides seeing the two trainers prepare for the Pokémon battle. "The battle between Reina of the Hiwamaki City and Chrom of the Ylisstol will begin shortly! This will be one-on-one battle. The battle will end when one Pokémon is defeated."

"So there are rules in Pokémon Battle." Sully says.

"And by the sounds of it, this is only one of the rules." Miriel adds taking notes.

"Trainers! Call out your Pokémon!" Meena calls.

Reina reaches into her pocket and takes out a Pokéball. "Go!" The Pokéball snaps open revealing Kuro.

"Luke!" Chrom calls and The Erllade jumps in front of him.

"Let the battle begin!"

"Kuro! Night Slash!" Reina orders and Kuro creates a purple energy on its horn as he charges over to his opponent.

"Luke, use Protect!" Chrom orders and the Erllade holds his hands out in front of him and a turquoise energy shield appears in front of it, protecting from Kuro's attack. "Now use Leaf Blade!"

"Counter it with Psycho Cut!"

As Luke charges at Kuro with one of his arms glowing green, Kuro releases a purple crescent-like blade of energy from his horn at the Erllade causing the two attacks explode in contact as Luke jumps backwards.

"Use Swords Dance then follow it by Night Slash!"

Kuro's body becomes surrounded in a red and pink misty aura, then a red wave of light comes up sharply raising his Attack and then uses the said move at Luke.

"Block it with Slash!" Luke lifts both of his arms as the blade part of his arms begin to glow and manages to block Kuro's move. "Use this chance to use Leaf Blade!"

"Eru!" Luke nods and use the said move, hitting Kuro below, and causing the Absol to skids the ground backwards.

"Are you all right, Kuro!" Reina asks.

"Sol." Kuro turns his head as he nods.

"I thinks it's about time…" She mutters which catches everyone's attention. "Kuro, let's show them your true power! Mega Evolve!" Reina taps on the stone of her pendant.

The stone shines a bright light as the stone on Kuro's collar glows with it. Streams of energy appears from both stones and connect with each other. As they did so, Kuro's starts to glow in rainbow-colored light and changes before their eyes. Once the light dies down, the people on the sidelines are all shock at the sight before them, while the Pokémon are all in awe.

His fur is longer overall as the back his mane stand on end, appearing to have wings. The spikes on its heels and elbows grow larger, and the fur in these areas becomes longer as well. Its sickle-shaped horn widens, while an additional, smaller horn appears on the opposite side of its head. Its tail now has a more saw-like shape, and the oval marking on its forehead is now a rounded triangle.

"What happened to Reina's Pokémon?!" Kellam asks.

"That's Mega Evolution. To put it simply, it's a process a Pokémon can transform into, becoming temporarily stronger than before." Meena explains.

"Dark Pulse!"

Kuroh opens his mouth and a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles appears inside it. He then fires a beam of black and purple circles from the orb inside his mouth at Luke.

"Evade it!" Luke jumps up to evade the incoming attack.

"It's useless!" Reina shouts and Kuro lifts his head as the beam follows the motion and successfully hit the Erllade.

"Luke!" Chrom calls out when Luke's body drops to the ground to see the Erllade defeated with swirls in his eyes.

"Luke is unable to battle! Therefore, the winner is Reina!" Meena declares.

"We did it!" Reina exclaims and runs towards Kuro as he reverts to his original form.

Luke sits up from the ground as Chrom walks towards him.

"Are you okay?" He asks with his hand out towards Luke. In response, Luke receives Chrom's hand and the prince helps his partner Pokémon up. "Looks like we got long way ahead of us."

"Eru." Luke nods in agreement.

Then Reina and Kuro walk towards the two and Reina puts her hand out.

"That was a great match." She says and Chrom receives her hand.

"Yeah."

Both trainers let go of each other's hand and looks at the crowd.

"So, what did you all thing of the battle?" Reina asks.

In response to her question, everyone cheers and applauds, stating that they had enjoyed the Pokémon Battle despite Chrom lost the battle.

"This is a Pokémon Battle." Meena begins. "No matter the situation, a trainer and their Pokémon are always one. We can form bonds with the Pokémon if they choose to be our partners. If you form a strong bond, you can do anything together."

Those with a Pokémon in the Shepherds look at their Pokémon partner, who stares at them back.


	11. The Foreseer

Chapter 11: The Foreseer

That night, Chrom is at the castle courtyard. After being in the Pokémon battle earlier, especially Mega Evolution, Chrom walks up to Reina and asks her how the process is done.

* * *

~Flashback~

"Reina, I want to ask you. How is Mega Evolution done?" He asks.

"Well, there are three things you need to Mega Evolve a Pokémon. The two of these are a Keystone and a Mega Stone. You need to have those stones in order for a Pokémon to Mega Evolve. But the Mega Stone need to match up with the same Pokémon. The Keystone's purpose is for the trainer to activate the Pokémon's Mega Evolution." Reina explains.

"And the third thing?"

"You need a strong bond with your Pokémon."

Chrom takes out the marble he got from Meena.

"You're in luck. I have another spare Keystone." Reina takes out a stone exactly like the one on her pendant and hands it to Chrom. "There is one thing you have to keep in mind."

"What is it?"

"One heart, two views. No matter how strong your bond is with Luke, you should always remember that."

"O-Okay."

Reina hands him the Keystone in which he accepts.

* * *

~End Flashback~

 _"One heart, two views? What does she mean by that."_ Chrom wonders, looking down at the stone sewed in his right glove.

"Chrom? What are you doing out so late?" Robin's voice came. He turns around and sees the girl approaching him, Drago by her side with Luke as he has a shoulder guard on his left shoulder, similar to Chrom's, with the Mega Stone embedded in it.

"Oh, hi, Robin, Drago, Luke. Just… dueling some unpleasant thoughts…" He answers. "Tomorrow we march to Regna Ferox to request additional soldiers. But there's something you should know first… Not everything Gangrel said was a lie." Hearing this surprise the three especially since they know how insane the king of Plegia is. "The last exalt, my father, waged war on Plegia for many wars. The violence… it was a brutal campaign, ending with only his death 15 years ago. Plegia rightfully remembers his suffering, but his war was no kinder to his people. As the fight drags on, our army became more and more diminished. Farmers who could barely wield a pitchfork were conscripted and sent to their deaths. Soon there was no food at all, and the kingdom began to collapse. I was young, but I remember those times… I know how they affected Emmeryn."

"Such an experience would change anyone." Robin says.

"Indeed. When our father died on her tenth year, he left her quite the legacy… Plegia's desire for vengeance, our own people's unbridled rage… my sister became a target for blame on all sides. Her own subjects began to hurl insults and stones. She still bears scars from one, but she never let them see her pain. Only Lissa and I understood."

Luke walks up to his partner and places a hand on his shoulder. "Eru."

"It must have been so hard." Robin says.

"I cannot claim to know how she does it, Robin." Chrom continues. "I could not greet such hostility with warmth and patience. While our people mocked and vilified her, she reached out and healed them. She brought soldiers home to their families. She ended the war. And when Ylisse's spirits was mended and the people 'forgave' her? She never resented them for it. She represents the best part of the halidom, the part most worth protecting. She is peace. But some men would take advantage of that. Men like King Gangrel. The day he understands peace will be the day death gives it to him. So perhaps I must be death's agent. Emmeryn would never order him killed, nor would I wish her to."

"That was well spoken, sir." A voice says.

The two Shepherds and their Pokémon turn to the source and see Marth walking up to them.

"Marth…" Chrom's eyes narrows.

"Good evening to you." He greets.

"How did you get here?" Chrom asks in suspicious, especially since there are guards at the front gate.

"The cleft in the castle wall, behind the maple grove."

This catches Chrom by surprise. "There? But how would you…? Ugh."

"You know that place, Chrom?" Robin asks.

Chrom turns to her in embarrassed. "Yes. I bashed in part of the wall while training the Shepherds. It's only a small hole, and I thought it well concealed, but…"

"You're secret is safe with me. I come here only to warn you." Marth says.

"Chrom raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Warn us?"

"The exalt's life is in danger."

"What, Emmeryn? That's absurd. She's guarded at all hours."

"What if… What if I told you I have seen the future? Would you believe me? A future where Emmeryn is killed. Here. Tonight." The masked man says ominously.

Chrom looks skeptical, considering everything that has happened. "Seen the future? Have you lost your wits?"

"Yes, I was expected you wouldn't believe me. So allow me to prove it!" Marth draws out his sword and Chrom follows suit by putting a hand on the hilt. "I'm about to save your life… From him."

Suddenly an assassin rises from the bushes, Marth tosses his sword in the air and jumps. He grabs hold of his weapon and brings it down on the assassin in an instant kill.

"I trust this proof will suffice?" He asks.

"…Yeah."

Suddenly, Luke notices something in the bushes. "Eru erllade!"

Another assassin rises from the bushes which caught Marth off guard. He trips on the first assassin's sword. The second assassin swings his weapon down for the kill, only to muss and only cut the mask, revealing Marth's face and his, rather her long blue hair.

Chrom speed pass her and kill the second assassin. Then he turns to face the female swordsman. "Wait, you're- You're a woman?"

"And quite the actress too." She answers. "Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't figure it out until just now."

The next thing they knew, an explosion is heard. This worries the gorup as they head back into the palace. Unknown to them, a figure is watching them from the shadows and starts running after them.

* * *

Just outside the palace, a group of Plegians stands, waiting for their orders from their leader.

"Remember, I want the Emblem in my hands with Emmeryn dead on the floor. Let nothing distract you from either purpose." He tells an assassin.

"As you will it." He nods.

While all the other assassins are eager to do the job, an orange haired, lollipop eating thief in the back who has a horrified look on his face.

"Whoa, whoa, did I just hear that right? We're to KILL the exalt? I'm just here for the plunder. You know, line in my pockets with some royal goods. That exalt's such a sweet lady… Sure, I'll rob her blind, but I'll never harm her!"

"Manyu." By the thief's side, a black weasel like-creature with a red crown and collar stands beside him.

"I know, buddy. I know." Without any of his allies knowing, he slips into the shadows.

* * *

Chrom and the others rush towards Emmeryn's room, where she is safe and unharmed with Reina and Meena with her.

"Emm!" The prince calls.

"Chrom! Takes Lissa and flee while you still have time!" Emmeryn tells him.

"No! We're not leaving you! Just stay where it's safe!"

Reina turns to Emmeryn. "Don't worry. I'll back your brother up. Meena, you stay here and protect her."

"Right!" She nods.

Robin looks around, seeing the amount of the assassins, there should be a leader who can order them to do such thing. "The assassins would scatter if we can defeat their leader."

Back outside, the leader of the group of Plegia notice Chrom is still alive.

"Hmph! Two assassins and the little princeling was not even wounded?" He narrows his eyes as he notices something about the opposite side. "Wait… Some of these actors do not belong on this stage."

When he lays his eyes on Robin, a grin forms on his face.

"Ho! Can it be?! After years of searching… Tonight, fate truly piles gifts at my feet!"

He gazes at the dragon, the green and white humanoid creature, and when the rest of the Shepherds come along, several other unique creatures follow them.

"So… the rumors were true after all…"

* * *

Marth looks down and notices her sword is glowing. "Falchion is gleaming…" She mutters.

"What's wrong?" Chrom asks.

"It's not your concern."

"Seems like nothing ever is with you."

"My apologies."

"Just stay at Emmeryn's doors. We'll handle the killers."

Marth complies and stands by Emmeryn's door, prepared to take down any assassin that slips pass the Shepherds.

As they fight against the enemy, a pair of figures sneak into the palace from the back window. One of them is a human with tanned skin and a dark brown hair in braids, wearing light purple body armor. She also has rabbit ears tied in her braids and a black rabbit tail. The other seems more like a brown, humanoid rabbit with long ears that bends shortly above its head and ends in fluffy, cream-colored fur. Its wrists and lower legs are also covered in cream-colored fur.

"I knew there was wisdom in slipping in with those rogues, Lily." The human rabbit says. "Look at how these man-spawn claw at each other like savages! I will repay my warren's debt and then wash my hands of their race."

"Mimi…" Lily doesn't seem to agree with her partner's idea.

As they keep going down the halls, they run into a certain Erllade.

"Eru!" The Erllade alerts as four more people come behind him.

"Another assassin?" Chrom questions getting his sword ready, but Marth stops him.

"Hold! Panne is not your enemy."

"You know her?"

"I know… of her. And I knew she would come here tonight." Marth replies cryptically.

"Quite the prophet, aren't you?"

"As you say. And I swear to you, Panne is an ally."

"…Good enough for me. All right, Shepherds! For now, we leave this Panne character be."

"Is that wise, milord?" Frederick asks in concern.

"Marth has earned our trust. She enjoys her secrets, I know… Like her gender for one. But she's also saved our lives. Twice. And that's enough for me."

Marth looks at him with a smile on his face. "Chrom… Thank you."

"Now can we get back to the matter at hand?" Reina suggests.

"You're right, Reina. Let's drive these scoundrels from our castle." Chrom agrees.

At that moment, four said scoundrels – two axe wielders, an assassin and a dark mage – come from both directions blocking them making the fighters split off to fight them.

The new arrival, Panne responds by slamming her hands with a purple stone on one of her hands into the ground and surrounding herself with rock-like energy. When the rock explodes, in her place is a giant, horse-sized rabbit with glowing red eyes and wearing the same armor but enlarged to fit her better. Not wasting any time she quickly swipes a paw at an assassin, killing him instantly.

"Mimi!" Lily's voice comes as Panne looks up to see her defeat a dark mage with a Dizzy Punch to the gut.

Meanwhile, Chrom cuts another dark mage down as Luke uses Slash. Afterwards, at the corner of his eye, the prince sees a certain orange-haired thief.

"Drop your weapon, or die where you stand!" He orders.

"Easy there, blue blood. I'm not here to hurt anyone." The thief assures.

"…Yet you stand with a band of assassins?" Chrom

"Believe me out not, trying to make a living. I'm a thief, see? Bust doors open, crack into chests… that kind of things. This lot said they wanted to break into some kind of vault. Nobody said anything about murder. I'd just as soon sit this one out."

Chrom looks at Luke, wondering if the thief before him speaks the truth. The Erllade looks back at him and nods.

"Hmm… Then perhaps you'd be willing to prove your good intentions?" He suggests.

"Beg pardon?"

"We need all the help we can get to save the exalt's life. You appear capable, and we could use any information you have about our foes."

"Oh, right–those good intentions. Fine then, I'll prove my sincerity… if you sweeten the deal."

Chrom grimaced at his conditions. "You want gold? …Fine, you scoundrel. Let me just–oops." He digs into his pocket for some gold when he drops a satchel on the floor.

"Looks like you dropped something. What's in the sachet, mmm?" The thief asks.

"Nothing. Candies from my little sister. I'm sure you–"

The thief's expression freezes. "'Candies'? As in, sugar candies?"

"Well yes. I assure they'd be sweet? But-"

"IT'S A DEAL!"

Chrom and Luke looks at the thief in shock. "…You'll risk your life if I give you… a bag of candy?"

"I said 'sweeten the deal', didn't I? Don't get me wrong, I'll take the gold too. Later. Unless you've got more of these. Have you got more of these?!"

The prince and Luke look at each other, dumbfounded at their new recruit. "Um… I'll ask Lissa."

* * *

Elsewhere in the palace, the rest of the Shepherds are doing well against the Plegians especially the new members of their group.

For Sully and the Shishiko, Leona, the two are quite the team. Leona would use Noble Roar to frighten the enemies enough for Sully to finish off. Any enemies who try to attack the female cavalier, the Lion Cub Pokémon would burn them away with Fire Fang.

For Stahl and the Herderrier, Terry, the Loyal Dog Pokémon uses Take Down at the opponent allowing Stahl to land the finishing hit. Like Sully, when the enemies try to attack the male cavalier, Terry would bite them down with Crunch.

For Vaike and Nyaheat, who he named Torra, they make a good combination in terms of strength. Both would land a good, strong hit on the Plegians for the other to instantly take out.

Lissa and Maribelle are also getting along well with Chi the Tabunne and Flora the Cuwawa. While healing their allies, the Pokémon would protect their partners by countering the enemies' attacks with Psychock, Magical Leaf, and Flower Shield.

Lastly, Virion and the Odoridori, Adalia, they are splendidly getting along. As the Dance Pokémon uses Air Slash to stall the enemy, Virion to snipe them quickly and elegantly.

Marth watches the teamwork between humans and Pokémon and couldn't help but be even more amazed by the sight before her. Suddenly, she is hit by a Nosferatu from behind and looking back, she sees a dark mage and a thief are teaming up against her.

 _"No. I can't fall here!"_ Marth thought.

"Arf!" A voice comes and then some sharp rocks strikes the mage and now lying on the floor dead.

"What the hell?!" He thief wonders, looking at the source of the attack. As he turns, a brown puppy with blue eyes and rocks on its neck sneaks behind and gives him a hard bit on his butt. "A―H!" The Plegian runs around as he tries to shake the growling puppy off his butt.

Seeing her chance, Marth gets back up and stabs her sword through his chest killing him. The puppy then releases his grip on the dead thief, it looks up at the swordswoman with eyes sparkling and tail wagging.

"Do you want to help?" She asks.

"Arf! Arf!" It replies, happily jumps up and down. Before she knew it, the puppy jumps into her arms causing Marth to drop her sword and rubs the rocks on its neck against her face.

"Hey, wait! That hurts!" Despite was Marth said, the puppy keeps on happily nuzzling her.

After snipping another dark mage, Reina sees Marth being cuddle by the creature in her arms. "That's…" She trails of and gets her Zukan out.

 **"Iwanko, the Puppy Pokémon. Iwanko have lived with humans since ancient times. When it gets close to evolving, Iwanko's temperament becomes more aggressive and it tends to act more independent."**

Reina then notice a fighter sneaking up on Marth and the Iwanko. "Hey! Behind you!"

Her warning comes a little too late, for the Plegian is already raises his axe up to kill the blue-haired swordswoman. However, the Iwanko in her arms jumps over her shoulder and bites his face.

"OW! Get this canine off me!" He shouts dropping his weapon as he tries to pry the Puppy Pokémon off his face.

Marth quickly takes in the situation she is in and instantly picks up her sword and runs it through the Plegian fighter. Once he lies on the floor dead, the Iwanko releases her grip.

"Shall we continue?" Marth says.

"Arf!" She nods.

* * *

Outside the palace, Robin and Drago have just charge out, finishing dealing with some of the remaining Plegians. The two sees the leader of the group and prepares themselves for battle.

"Well, well… Ha ha ha! Hasn't it been a while!" He says.

Robin's eyes widen in shock at his words. "You know me?"

"Oh, I know you… Submit to me, and perhaps I might honor you with the truth!"

"I'd rather die! Drago, use Dragon Pulse!"

"Mozu!" Drago shouts as he releases the move at the dark mage and causing an explosion to occur.

"Did we get him?" Robin wonders.

As the smoke begins to clear, to their shock, the Plegian leader is still standing. "You think that's enough to beat me?! Elfire!" He fires a powerful fire magic at the two as the tactician and her partner can't respond in time to avoid the attack.

"Protect!"

"Eru!"

Luke suddenly appears before them with his arms up as he summons a barrier to block the attack.

"Robin!" Chrom calls as he approaches her and Drago. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Chrom. Luke." Robin replies.

Luke glances at her and simply nods.

At the sight of the prince and his partner, the Plegian dark mage grits his teeth. "Emmeryn was supposed to be an easy target… You will pay for interfering in my designs!"

"Think again! Let's go, Luke!" Chrom shouts and a nod, the Erllade follows his partner to their opponent.

"Drago, Dragon Breath!" Robin orders as she switches her tomes. Drago fires a light blue beam of energy from her mouth to the dark mage. At the same time, Robin also shoots out some fire magic at the Plegian.

The two attacks speed past the prince and his Erllade and about to hit their target, who jumps back to avoid them. An explosion occurs when the Fire magic and Dragon Breath hit the ground causing smoke to rise, making it hard for the enemy to see where Chrom and Luke will attack from. He then sees a pair of shadows from the smoke and instantly fires an Elfire, but one of the shadows move in front of the other and spreads his arms out. The magic seemingly struck, clearing away the smoke to reveal Luke with an active Protect. Chrom uses his shoulder as a stepping stone to jump over the barrier and perform a diving attack at the dark mage. The enemy avoids the attack and prepares to fire another Elfire spell. Chrom sees this and quickly moves away from his attack range.

Luke then regroups with his partner. "Eru."

"Yeah. He is tougher than the rest. Shall we test out your true power?" Chrom asks and Luke nods. "Then it's time to see what you're really capable of! Mega Evolve!" Chrom taps his Keystone causing it and Luke's Erlladnite to shine brightly. Streams of energy comes out from both stones and connects each other. As soon as they all come in contact, Luke's body begins to glow in a rainbow color and change shape.

One the glow dies down, Luke's new for is revealed. His body is mostly white, save for his head, a red plate on his chest and the red blades on his now white arms. He also has a white cape on. Overall, his new appearance looks like a knight.

All the other Shepherds and their Pokémon allies are outside the palace at this point staring at Luke's new form in great awe. Luke then checks out his new look and flexing his muscles.

"How do you feel?" Chrom asks and receives a smile with a nod.

"What?! What did you two do?!" The leading Plegian questions.

"You'll never find out. Go, Luke!" Immediately, the Mega Erllade charges at the Plegian.

"I won't let you! Elfire!" The dark mage unleashes another powerful Fire magic.

"Slash!" With one swoop, Luke swings down his arm, cutting the magic in half allowing the Erllade to run past it as an explosion occur behind him. Before the Plegian has a chance to react, Luke strikes his Slash attack hard, ending the battle.

"No… This is… all wrong… How could… you have known the plan…" He breaths his last word.

Almost everyone is shock at how quickly Luke killed the leader of the group of assassins. The shock soon becomes cheers as they realize they won the battle.

"Luke, you were amazing!" Chrom states as he looks at his partner but then realize something is off about him. "Luke?" After he calls him, Luke collapses forward as he reverts to normal. "Luke!"

He, Reina, and Meena rush to the Blade Pokémon's side as the two sisters check up on him.

"Don't worry. Luke just fainted." Meena tells Chrom. "He probably suppresses the excess energy from Mega Evolution."

"Thank gods…" Chrom trails off and looks at his partner.

"Well, there are some cases when a Pokémon Mega Evolves they fainted from the excess power from it." Reina adds and notices the worried look on Chrom's face. "It'll be fine. As long as you, Luke, and the others join in my training, you'll be sure to master Mega Evolution."

"Really?" Chrom asks and realizes what she said. "Wait, the others?"

"Yeah. For now, you and the other four will be joining my training that I put together."

"You better prepare yourself." Meena whispers to the prince. "When Reina gets like this, she won't hold back."

"Hey, I can hear you. Don't make it sound like I'm an ogre."

* * *

~Later~  
Back in the castle

"Emm! Thank gods you're safe!" Chrom says to his sister.

"It is you I have to thank, Chrom." The exalt says. "And if anyone is to be worried about, shouldn't it be Luke?"

"Don't worry. Right now, Luke is resting peacefully." Reina assures.

"Thank you, Reina."

"I beg your forgiveness, milord! I failed in my duty. They should never have made it into the castle in the first place." Philia apologizes, bowing her head.

"Peace, Philia. You couldn't have known what was coming." Chrom assures. "Only Marth could-"

"Marth?" Emmeryn asks.

"Yes, I would speak more with…" Chrom looks around and sees the unmasked swordswoman is gone. "Um… Robin, where's Marth?"

"Hmm… An excellent question. She was here a moment ago…" Robin says also confused as to where the mysterious person went.

"…Not again!" Chrom exclaims and goes after Marth.

Elsewhere

Marth is walking through the castle courtyard, away from the castle itself. She stops for a moment, looking at the building with a nostalgic look. She about to continue walking away when Chrom comes by.

"Going somewhere? You have a bad habit of leaving without saying goodbye, you know." He states.

"Yes, I'm afraid I have a few bad habits." She admits.

"Good ones as well–you saved my life as well as both of my sisters. Is there a way I can repay you? Some favor I can grant?"

Marth smiles at his offer. "Hearing you offer is reward enough."

Chrom didn't relent to her answer. " But there must be something…"

"I already have what I came for: history have been rewritten."

"And what future averted?"

"After the exalt's untimely assassination, the Fire Emblem would be stolen. This, in turn, would lead to a great war, and soon to the end of mankind itself." Marth ceases her explanation and looks down. "…But I'm sure that sounds like madness to you."

Chrom is silent for a moment. To a common person, it does sound crazy, but considering everything that happened, how she knew so much, not to mention Pokémon showing up, he's became open minded. "…Strangely, no. It doesn't. Somehow I know I can trust you. And I hope someday to repay your favors."

"Perhaps one day you shall. Until then…" Marth is about to walk away when a bark is heard.

"Arf! Arf!" The two turns and sees a familiar puppy running to them.

"You're-" Marth us cut off by the Iwanko jumping into her arms again and giving her another painful nuzzle. " Owowowow! Hey! Stop that!" Iwanko did stop when the Pokémon climb on her shoulder and gives her lots of licks. "Hey! That tickles!" The girl tumbles down and was at the mercy of the nuzzling Puppy Pokémon, stating how painful the nuzzles are.

Chrom is slightly confused at the sight before him.

"Looks like that Pokémon has really attached to you." Chrom looks around to see Reina walking up to them.

"Reina, when did you…"

"Just now." She answers the prince's questions. When she gets up to where Marth is, Reina picks up the Puppy Pokémon and Marth gets back up. Reina then sets Iwanko back down, the latter who is circling around the blue-haired swordswoman. "Looks like she wants to go with you."

"But I…" Marth trails off.

"Look at her. She can tell that you're a good person and where I came from, there are some cases that a Pokémon chooses their partner. That's why Iwanko chose you."

Marth looks down at Iwanko, who is standing on her hind legs, leaning on the swordswoman's legs for support, making happy sounds as she wags her tail. Seeing this causes the girl to smile. "Well, I always did want a dog. If you really want to come with me, you can… Allena."

Hearing this makes Iwanko, Allena overjoy as the Puppy Pokémon jumps into Marth's arms and gives her a good, painful nuzzle.

"Owowowow! Just don't nuzzle me too much!" She begs. As Allena ceases her nuzzling, Marth picks her up and makes eye contact with her. "Let's get along well, Allena."

"Arf!" Allena replies happily.

Setting her down, Marth takes her leave with her newfound partner by her side. As they leave, Chrom couldn't help but thing about his own partner.

* * *

Meanwhile  
Back in the castle

Emmeryn is speaking with Panne and her Pokémon friend.

"Brave taguel, there are not words enough to express my gratitude." Emmeryn thanks.

"So you know our true name?" Panne questions, narrowing her eyes. Noticing her action worries Lily.

"Sorry, what's a taguel?" Robin asks in a confused tone.

"I am a taguel. The… The last taguel." Panne becomes sadden as she answers Robin's question. "We are shape-shifters. Most of your kind calls us 'beast' or 'coney' in the midst of their hunt. I only helped because my warren owes Ylisse a debt. Do not think us friends, you and I!"

"Mimi…" Lily gets even more worried for her friend.

"I don't understand…" Robin says.

"Yes, it's precious little your kind seem to understand. It was man-spawn like you that invaded our warren and slaughtered my people."

"What?! Is this true? Who would do such a thing?" Emmeryn asks in a horrified tone.

"Ha! Do not act so shocked. You are all the same. Right down to your base desire to ruin and destroy all your touch–even each other." Panne says.

"…There is truth to your words, perhaps." Emmeryn admits. "I'm told that, in taguel society, everyone is treated as an equal. Mankind could learn much from your warren. The words may come too late and mean too little, but I am deeply sorry. We have stolen your friends and family and made the world a lesser place."

"Your Grace–you have no fault in this!" Philia tells her.

Panne didn't look convinced. "You claim to be blameless, and yet you would apologize? Pah! Your words are but wind."

"I know… But they are all I have." The exalt says.

Panne looks closer at Emmeryn and looks her in the eyes for any trace of malice, only to find none at all.

"…You seem sincere, man-spawn. You feel my pain as your own. …I never felt that before. Look at me. …See what I am. I will never trust mankind. But you… Perhaps you truly are not like the others."

"All I ask if a chance to earn your trust." Emmeryn replies as she gratefully bows and then looks at Panne's companion. "And who might this be?"

"This is my friend, Lily. She is a creature known as Mimilop." Panne introduces.

"Mimi." Lily greets.

"What's going on?" Reina's voice asks as she walks towards them with Chrom behind her.

"Ah, Reina. We were introducing Panne's companion." Emmeryn explains to them.

"Hmm~" Reina hums and takes out her Zukan.

 **"Mimilop, the Rabbit Pokémon. It's notably wary and has a dislike of fighting, but at the same time, it can deliver powerful kicks with its lithe legs."**

Panne blinks silently. "Oh… I didn't realize you already know about these… Pokémon."

"Yeah… My Pokémon and I are introducing Pokémon to the people here… Wait… how did you know what they were called?!"

" Lily told me herself. We were both surprised by this when we met."

"So your kind can understand Pokéspeak…" Reina trails off and mutters. "Does it have to do with the species…?"

* * *

In a dark void

The dark mage from the assassination wakes up and staggers. "Nngh… How?! My purpose is too significant… to be thwarted… here… Aaargh…"

Then a mysterious shadowy figure enters. "Validar."

"What? Who are you… Where did you… come from?"

"I am the power that compels you. You will not perish here. It is not written. You must live on to author a destiny greater than you know."

The mage's eyes widen at who this is. "I-impossible! It can't be you! It can't be…"

The figure then gives a sinister smile. "I am the wings of despair. I am the breath of ruin. I am the fell dragon, Grima…"

* * *

At the palace

"It will take time to investigate how the assassination plot got so far. We have no leads at present." Philia says to Emmeryn, Chrom, Frederick, Robin, and Lissa as everyone else was sent to their rooms tried to manage whatever sleep they could get.

"It was Plegia! I'm sure of it. They'd do anything for the Emblem. Emm, you can't stay here. Come to Ferox where it's safe." Chrom pleads.

However, Emmeryn shakes her head. "And leave the people undefended? War is at our borders, Chrom. Do you expect Ylisse to stand against Plegia without a leader? They must know their exalt stands with them."

"But if something happens to you? What then?"

"Your Grace, perhaps you might relocate to the eastern palace for the time being? The other kingdoms know nothing of it. You would be safer." Frederic suggests.

Emmeryn gives it some thought before responding, "…Hmm. Very well."

"Chrom smiles at his sister listening to them. "Thanks, Emm. I mean it. We'll escort you to the palace before we head north to the border."

She nods before they all turned in for the night.

* * *

Mimilop – Lopunny

Manyula – Weavile

Iwanko – Rockruff


	12. The Incursion

Chapter 12: The Incursion

The next day, the Shepherds all escorts Emmeryn to a palace hidden in the east after the assassination attempt the night before. As they walk, Chrom keeps glancing over at Luke from time to time.

"Aren't you a worrywart." Chrom turns and sees Reina walking next to him. "There were similar cases when a Pokémon learned a new Move, they couldn't control their power. But, after a lot of time and training, they will able to control the Move."

"…Can we really master Mega Evolution?" He asks.

"If you start to doubt yourself, you can't master it." Reina bluntly replies. "It's same thing when battling. If you can't believe yourself or your Pokémon, you can't win. Only when you and your Pokémon believe in each other, you can win. That's why, as soon as we safely escort Emmeryn to the palace, you, and Luke, as well as Ricken, Whittaker (Yukiwarashi), Lissa, Chi, Panne, and Lily will be training under me. You can't run from this power forever. There will come a time when it will be necessary."

As the Shepherds continue their journey, they couldn't help but notice the amount of wild Pokémon in the woods at the same time, the Pokémon notice them but continue their own business, ignoring the group. Some of them gives some fruits and berries as peace offerings or sign of friendship. A couple Pokémon took a liking to the Shepherds who yet to have a partner and stuck on them.

"Is it okay I can call you Gilad?" Kellam asks the small camel-like Pokémon.

"Don." His partner replies.

"You are quite interesting. I will call you Jacky." Miriel says to the black and pink pumpkin-like Pokémon.

"Bakeccha."

 **"Donmel, the Numb Pokémon. Donmel is so complacent that it does not even notice when it is stuck. This Pokémon's body is filled with hot magma, which, when cooled in water, rather slows its movement. Donmel is also unable to bear hunger."**

 **"Bakeccha, the Pumpkin Pokémon. Bakeccha's eyes can glow, which lights the way for travelers. They often sleep in the ground."**

"These Pokémon are really nice, aren't they?" Robin says giving Drago one of the apples a Bippa gave her earlier.

"Mozu." Drago nods as they both eat the apple.

"Back in my world, I heard that a herd of Baneboo lives in an oasis and gives fruit and water for the trainers."

"That sounds fun! Have you been there?" Lissa asks.

"Yeah. Just when I ran out of water, there was the rumored oasis and went there. And then, Baneboo welcomed me by giving a lot of fruits and stock up to continue my journey."

"Wow! Now I want to meet them." Lissa says.

"If we manage to see the said oasis that is." Robin says.

"Robin! Don't damper the mood!" Lissa yells at the tactician causing Reina to laugh.

Sometime later, the group arrives at an area known as Breakneck Pass.

"Ugh, my poor feet. I've got blisters the size of eggs!" Lissa complains.

"Oh, it's not so bad, Lissa. Just a healthy stroll! How are you holding up, Robin?" Chrom asks.

"My legs feels like pudding…" The tactician admits. "Your endurance astounds me, Chrom."

"Hah! Should I carry you?"

"You should carry me!" Lissa exclaims cheerfully. "…No, seriously. I would really be okay with you carrying me." She then looks at Reina and Meena walking behind her. "How the heck are you two still going?"

"We've been traveling long distance on foot like this since I was eleven while Meena was ten." Reina replies.

"So this is pretty much second nature to us." Meena adds.

Frederick eyes widens at what they said. "Ten and eleven? That's far too young to be traveling!"

"Not really. It's pretty common for people to start training Pokémon at age ten before they raised the age requirements to fifteen." Reina explains.

An elderly man with them couldn't help but continuously looking around their surroundings. "Hmm…"

Frederick notices this. "Is something troubling you, Hierarch? You keep glancing up at the peaks."

"Hmm? Oh, I'm just a b-bit nervous I'm afraid. Gh-ghastly times, these!" The old man stutters.

"Chrom, who is that?" Robin asks.

"The hierarch? He's been a friend of House Ylisse for many years. He guided Emmeryn during the early years of her rule." Chrom introduces. "Why did you ask."

"I can't quite put my finger on it, but something feels…"

Before she could finish her thought, she is interrupted by Ignis, Frederick's Gardie growling loudly, pointing his nose in front of them.

"What is it, Ignis?" Frederick asks when Reina notices something.

"Look out!" She shouts as she gets in front of the company. "Éclair!"

"Pika!" Éclair jumps into the air and uses Thunderbolt at the hidden soldiers causing them to be blown away and all land painfully before them.

Chrom gasps at the sight of their armor. "Plegian soldiers?! Damn! How do they know we were here?!"

"Not only that. There's more coming this way!" Reina exclaims.

"Everyone! Prepare for battle!"

High above them a wyvern rider, named Vasto sniffs the air and gains a malicious smirk on his face. "Smell that, men? The winds of fortune are blowing out way!"

The hierarch then runs to the middle of the path. "Hold sir! I am the man King Gangrel told you about! Did you not receive orders to take me into your protection?" Hearing this shock most of the Shepherds.

"I've orders to protect a man, true…" Vasto says before smirking again. "But I don't see no man here! …Only a pig! A rasher of traitorous bacon that sold out his own sovereign! And what do we do with little piggies, mmm?"

"Well, you… I mean, perhaps… You let them go free?" The hierarch answers hopefully.

"Oh, are you a chicken now? Bawk bawk! We've a whole barnyard in our midst! Well, it don't matter what you are. The axe will fall just the same!"

One of the brigands comes behind the hierarch and kills him causing everyone to cringe at the sight of him being killed.

"Right! Now for the main event. By moon's end, they'll be erecting statues of me in the capital!" Vasto exclaims before looking down at the Shepherds. "Ho there! Ylisseans! Give me the Fire Emblem and your wench of a ruler and spare yourselves a gory end!"

"Philia, take Emmeryn to the rear of the column. We'll fend off these blackguards!" Chrom commands Philia as she takes his elder sister to the far back.

"You too, Meena." Reina tells her sister as she gets ready.

The little sister nods and goes with Emmeryn.

"Ricken, Virion, Reina! You three and your Pokémon will handle with the wyvern riders! Lissa and Maribelle, take care of the wounded! Same with your Pokémon! Those of us who can also attack at a long range, pair up with any who can only attack at close combat!" Robin orders and everyone understands their role and take action.

As they fight, Vasto watches as his men are getting subdue by the Shepherds especially their Pokémon. There were rumors about how the magical creatures side with the Ylisseans and he as well as many other of Gangrel's top men laugh it off as a joke. However, seeing with his own eyes, he couldn't believe they are true.

Time later, a red-head pegasus knight appears from where the Shepherds came from.

"*Huff, huff…* No! Plegians here as well?!" The Pegasus Knight exclaims in disbelief. "Prince Chrom! Captain Philia! Beware! Enemy reinforcements to the rear! They'll be upon us soon!"

Philia looks up at the pegasus knight. "Is that…? Gods, Cordelia?!"

"Cordelia?" Robin asks.

"She's one of my knights. Young yet, but quite gifted. But she was stationed on the border… Why…?" She stops herself as her face pales. "Oh, gods! Could it mean…?"

Everyone fights as hard as they could, killing the Plegians before they could kill them. The sight of the scene before him enrages the Plegian leader that the power of Pokémon is wasted on the Shepherds. He looks down and notices a certain female archer shooting down each one of his men.

As soon as she sees reinforcements coming, Reina takes out a pair of Pokéballs and calls out the Pokémon in them. "Let's go! Fuko! Kuro!" Then her Ohsubame and Absol appear on the field.

Seeing this makes the wyvern rider smirk even more. "So, it's that girl's doing. Which means, if we have her, all the Magical Creatures will be at our command!" Vasto has his wyvern dive down at the distracted archer.

Seeing this at the corner of her eye, Reina turns around as the wyvern rider comes even closer to her. Just as Vasto raises his axe to attack her, Fuko appears and blocks it with Steel Wing.

"What?!" He gasps.

Suddenly, Kuro jumps behind him and pushes the wyvern and his rider back with Dark Pulse.

"You shouldn't have attacked me from behind you know. Among in my party, these two are overprotective of me including Éclair." Reina tells him.

"Silence! I'll spatter you across the canyon floor!" Vasto swears as he has his wyvern dive down once more to Reina.

The female archer jumps away from where she was standing as Vasto's wyvern tries to land a hit on her as well, only to be blocked by Kuro's Night Slash. Unknown to the Plegian and his ride, Fuko is above the wyvern as she dives down while using Arial Ace striking the wyvern's wings. Without the wings, both it and Vasto have fallen to their deaths.

"Good work, Fuko." Reina commends as the Ohsubame lands next to her.

"Oh." She nods.

"You doves think… killing me will change anything?" Vasto questions, barely alive from the fall. "Heh… Even now, my brothers storm across your precious border… Go on, dear exalted coward! Run! Flee while they slaughter your subjects! Save yourself… Let their faith in you bleed away… with the rest!" With those final words, the rider has died.

After the battle was fought and won, Cordelia rushes over to Emmeryn and Chrom's side. "Your Grace! My prince! Run! As for and fast as you can! More Plegians are coming, not a half day's march behind you!" She warns.

"Cordelia, what are you doing here? …Tell me the border remains secure!" Philia questions her.

"That I could, milady! But it would be false…. Gangrel himself led his might against us! The end was upon us when my knight-sisters begged me fly and warn the exalt… I should have stayed… I should have stayed! Ah, gods, I can still hear the screams…"

"Peace, Cordelia. You did your duty. The sisters rightly prized your youth. You've many years yet to keep their legacy alive."

"But I abandoned them! I'm weak… Their legacy deserves better."

"Sometimes fleeing takes the most courage. They knew that. Now pull yourself together. Let the faith they showed in you give you strength."

Cordelia calms down slightly but is still choking back on tears. "Captain Philia, I… How can I go on like this? They were my… my family… *sob* Gods… Oh, gods…"

Reina walks up to the young pegasus knight and hugs her for comfort. "Cordelia, I know this is hard for you, but you need to be strong for them. Even if you can't see them, they will always live inside your heart." Cordelia widens her eyes at her words and finally calms down.

"Damn those monsters!" Chrom curses under his breath.

Emmeryn suddenly steps towards the middle of the circle. "I must return to the capital."

Everyone turns to her in shock at what she said.

"Your Grace, I cannot advise-" Philia starts to disagree but Emmeryn interrupts.

I should have never left. If it's discovered I'm away when this news comes to light… the people could panic. Riot. More Ylisseans could needlessly die." Turning to her brother, Emmeryn hands him something. "Here Chrom. In entrust this to you."

She hands the shield embedded with a white gem to her younger brother who takes it both hands. "The Fire Emblem?"

"Take it to Ferox–to safety."

"And leave you? No, Emm."

"No part of House of Ylisse matters more than the Emblem. It possesses tremendous power. But too much blood has been shed over it already. I hope it finds a better guardian in you than it did me."

"Emm, come on. You can't… Don't talk like that! You sound like you're giving up…"

"I am not giving up, Chrom. I am only giving what I can."

"Emm, please! This is madness!" Chrom exclaims in worry.

"Sis, wait! Let me go with you!" Lissa begs.

"Stay with Chrom, Lissa. I command it." Emmeryn says, standing her ground.

Lissa starts to cry at her sister's words. "This isn't fair! It's not fair! I know our people need you, but we need you, too!"

"Dry your tears, love. This is not good-bye." Emmeryn smiles sadly as she wipes the cleric's tears.

"Your Grace, the pegasus knights will accompany you to Ylisstol." Phila says, not wanting the exalt to be without protection.

"Very well, Phila. Thank you." Emmeryn nods.

"I will keep the prince and princess safe, your Grace. You have my word." Fredrick speaks up.

"I know you will, Federick. Thank you."

"It is my honor." Federick says with a heavy heart.

"I'm also counting on you two, Luke, Chi." Emmeryn calls.

"Eru." Luke nods.

"Tabunne." Chi replies.

Philia turns to her surviving border pegasus knight. "Cordelia. You will stay here with Chrom."

"But, Captain–"

"I know your heart is heavy, but this is how it must be. Your knight-sisters will be with you in spirit, wherever you go."

Cordelia thought for a bit before she finally nods as she wears a determined look. "May they give me strength. As you command, Captain. I will pray for your safety."

"Come, Phila. We must go." Emmeryn says to the Pegasus Knight Captain.

"No! you don't have to go! This is absurd!" Chrom begs one last time.

"Chrom, you don't–" The exalt starts before the bluenette interrupts.

"Walking to your own death will not bring peace to anyone! Ylisse needs you. WE need you! Be selfish for once on your life!"

The exalt is silent before a smile comes over her face. "I love you, Chrom. Both you and Lissa are my everything. As for the peace I seek… You cannot so who it is for. I have to go. I'm sorry–I truly am. Let us embrace again in Ylisstol when you arrive with Feroxi reinforcements. I know you will come."

"…This is a terrible plan."

"The blood of the first exalt flows strong in us. You and I will keep Ylisse safe. I believe it with all my heart. Safe journey, Chrom. Safe journey, Lissa." With that Emmeryn and Phila take their leave.

"Emm… Emm?!" Chrom calls out his sister's name, only to be ignored as she and her bodyguard continue their way back to Ylisstol.


	13. Grimleal

Chapter 13: Grimleal

Instead of going to the eastern castle, the group change direction to Regna Ferox for reinforcements. Once they arrived at there, the Shepherds are resting, but both Chrom and Lissa worry for their sister.

"B-But she's safe inside the castle, right? Phila and the others will protect her! And Khan Flavia is assembling her best troops as we speak. We'll make it back home in time. I know we will!" Lissa says trying to look on the bright side of things. However, Chrom is silent, not listening to what his sister had just said. "Chrom? Say something! Say, 'Yes, of course, we will!"

"…I sorry, Lissa. What?" The prince asks.

"Ugh, fine! Never mind! Let me know when you get out of your own head for a second!"

As the captain remains silent once again, the Shepherds whispers amongst themselves with a frown upon their situation. Then their eyes snap over to Sumia, who walks over to the captain and stands before him unnoticed.

"Snap out of it, Captain!" She shouts. To everyone's shock, both humans and Pokémon alike, she punches Chrom hard.

"OW! What the hell was that for?!" He demands.

"Oh no! …Did I do it wrong? Captain Phila said sometimes a good slap will break someone out of their doldrums."

Reina sweat drops at her reason. "Sumia, when you slap someone, do it with an open palm."

"Yeah! You just punched Chrom in the face!" Lissa adds.

"Pikachu…" Éclair trails off as she also has a sweat drop by her head.

"Um… It's the thought that counts?"

"Gods, that seriously hurt…" Chrom complains, rubbing his cheek.

"Although it does look hurt, at least it worked…" Meena points out.

"Haha! What's wrong, my dear prince? Sometimes love hurts!" They turn in surprised to see Khan Flavia standing next to them laughing aloud. "You're lucky to have strong women like these, and not just dainty flowers about. In any case, I bring good news. The Feroxi army has finally mobilized. Every last man is itching to fight. I must say, I'm looking forwards to savor a skirmish or two myself."

This causes everyone to pause for a moment. "…Wait. You're coming along?" Chrom asks.

"Of course! A khan must have her fun! I'm even bringing my insignificant other."

"Your who?" Robin asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Basilio." The East khan identifies. "The oaf isn't good for much but he might stop a few stray arrows."

"O-Okay…" Reina says.

"Anyway, the West-khan was looking for you, Chrom. He said that it was pretty urgent. I'll take you to him."

The Ylissean prince nods as they quickly walk over to the throne room to see the West-khan standing there looking around frantically. As soon as he notices them coming over to him, he faces them with an anxious look on his face.

"Chrom! Good gods, I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Yes, Flavia told me just now. Is something wrong?" The prince asks.

"Our scouts have reported back. Dark news, I'm afraid…" Basilio pauses for a moment and informs, "Ylisstol… has fallen."

This news shocks everyone. "What?!"

"The Plegians captured your exalt and retreated back across their lines. Gangrel has declared she's to be publicly executed within the moon."

"E-Executed?!" Chrom gasps.

"Ooooh…" Lissa moans as begins to faint on the spot and about to collapse when Robin and Chi catch her.

"Lissa? Lissa!"

"Tabunne!"

"The dastard's not even trying to be subtle anymore." Flavia says.

Robin nods in agreement. "I agree. It's an obvious trap."

"The Mad King knew out scouts would reply this information back. It's clearly a provocation–a hot brand to the buttocks! We should consider carefully before jumping to any–" Basilio starts but is interrupt by Chrom.

"Shepherds! We march to Plegia!"

"*Ahem* Well, that would be ONE option, yes… But perhaps we've seen enough royalty waltzing into traps for one war already, eh?"

"I don't care if it's a trap, Basilio. He's going to murder my sister!"

"Calm down, Chrom! If we march now without a plan, we're all going to be killed before we can even reach Emmeryn or the Mad King. Then who will be able to save her?" Reina points out.

"Reina's right. Breathe a moment." Flavia agrees. "No one's suggesting we don't act. We're simply saying we should act WISELY. We'll need guts AND wits in equal measure if we're to save your sister."

"The khans and Reina are right. I'll think of something. Chrom. I promise." Robin vows.

The prince takes a few moments to take deep breaths and calms himself. "…All right, Robin. I'll leave it to you to formulate our strategy."

"Are you certain you're up to the task, Robin?" Flavia asks. "It won't be easy. You hold the exalt's live in one hand, and all of ours in the other."

"A responsibility I do not take lightly. But I am equal to the challenge." Robin claims.

The female khan gives a hearty laugh. "Ha ha! You've got stones, at least. I like that!"

"No hesitation, no mincing words… She's either a genius or a fool!" Basilio states with a smirk. "I suppose we'll find out once we march. Hold on to your tassets, Ylisseans. We've an exalt to save!"

The Shepherds all give their voices of approvals, each determined to see that Emmeryn will return safely to Ylisse.

* * *

A few days later, the forces of both Ylisse and Ferox set out to the execution ground in Plegia to save Emmeryn. The terrain slowly changes from snowy hills to lush green woods before it finally becomes a desert. Chrom couldn't help but feel something off about how they were able to travel so far without being spotted by the enemy. He sends Luke ahead to scout the area, and Sumia sends Skye with him as back up.

After a while they come back with Frederick joining them.

"Milord, our scouts report some manner of engagement downfield." Frederick reports as Luke and Skye nod confirming of this.

"Understood. Get everyone ready to move." Chrom says.

"These desert sands are certain to bog down out units, milord." Frederick informs. "Only mages and fliers will be able to proceed unhindered."

"Good point. I'll keep it in mind. Robin, let's discuss strategy."

As the two talks about the plan of action, a little girl runs through the middle of the soon-to-be battlefield. She has long, green-yellow hair in a ponytail and pointy ears. She wears quite a revealing outfit consisting of a scaly cloth tied together with a pink ribbon covering her chest, short shorts, with pink ribbons on the sides. She also has on a pair of gloves, a cape, long boots, and a circlet on her head.

In her arms is a small, four-legged, dinosaur-like creature. The lower half of its body is black, while the upper half is light gray. It has a beak-like snout with a small, tooth-like spike in each corner of its lower jaw and big, red eyes. On the front of its head is a large, heart-shaped yellow scale. A small tuft similar to ears or small feathers extends from the back of its head on either side, and there is another small, white tuft on its chest. Six teardrop-shaped, loose-hanging scales form a half ring around its shoulders. These scales are gray with pale yellow along the outside edge. A solid yellow scale of the same shape is on the tip of its tail. Each of its feet has three yellow claws.

"*Huff, huff* Did… Did we lose him, Jang?" The girl asks.

The creature looks behind them and before it could make any sounds, a middle-aged man with orange hair caught up to them. He wears an armor with heavy clothes underneath and has a sword by his side.

"Wait, I say! Why you no comprehending, wee one?" He speaks.

The girl and her creature, no doubt a Pokémon, let out a cry to his voice. "AUGH! GET AWAY! Everyone just leave me and Jang ALONE!"

Sensing its friend is in danger, Jang jumps down and gives an intimidating look.

"Please, be keeping down with the voice! You give away position! Very bad!" The man pleads however the girl is busy in her emotional distress to hear him.

"My throat is dry, my shoes are full of sand, Jang is too weak after all that torture back there, and some big weirdo is trying to KILL US!"

"Oy, you break Gregor's heart! Why you treat like villain?"

Chrom shouts over to them, "You there! Fiend! Keep your hands off that maiden!"

"Who is fiend?" The Gregor questions as he thought for a bit." …You mean Gregor? No, friend! You have idea wrong!"

"Yeah, right! …Creep!" Lissa scoffs.

"This day has been nothing but insults and punches to groin. And all for doing good deed! …Listen, friend Gregor only want to-"

Gregor got interrupted by the appearance of an elderly man clad in dark robes. He snarled at the Shepherds and the two new additions. "Gotcha, you slippery scamp! Prepare for a dose of Grima's wrath!"

"Oy, this is most terrible! Do you see now? They make with the catching of us!"

"Why are you all after the girl?" Chrom continues to question.

"All? What is this 'all'? Gregor is not one of 'all'! Look close! Maybe you not see from so far? Gregor have innocent-baby face!" A giant grin spread across Gregor's face trying to make himself as 'innocent' as possible.

However, seeing this makes everyone to sweat drop.

"Hmm…" Chrom looks skeptical.

"Well…" Lissa trails off.

"Yeah… Not sure 'innocent baby' is how I'd describe it…" Robin says.

"Same." Reina agrees as Meena nods silently in agreement.

"Gah! Never be minding! Gregor is not enemy! You must believe!" Gregor exclaims once more.

Chrom sighs and places his hand on his head. "…This is making my head hurt. We'll sort him out later. Right now, we need to protect the girl."

The said girl looks up and over at the group. "Y-you're going to help us?"

"We'll do everything in our power to keep you safe. Just hold on until we can reach you, and we'll drive them off!"

"Ellade!" Luke calls getting the prince's attention. "Ell! Ell ellade!" He is pointing at a small village near them to the other two villages.

"You're right, Luke. We need to warn those villages of the danger. But who to send. Best if it's someone who can move swiftly through the sands." Chrom wonders.

"Then let's have some of the mages and fliers go there." Robin suggests and Chrom nods at her idea.

With that the Shepherds are off into another battle, making their way to Gregor, the girl, and the creature as quickly as they could.

"NO! GET AWAY FROM US!" She grabs at the stone around her neck and encase in pink light. The next thing the group knew, a yellow dragon stand in her place, breathing out flames at the mage. Jang follows it up with a powerful tail whip while its tail is glowing light blue.

This action surprised all of the Shepherds.

"What in the blazes?! That girl is a dragon!" Robin shouts.

"By the gods, she's a manakete. I never thought I'd see one." Chrom says.

"Hmm… Perhaps she doesn't need our help so much as we could use hers…" The tactician whispers.

Meanwhile, Reina and Éclair reached to one of the village as she happened to snipe a few fighters nearby. She sees an elderly man standing by the gate in worry.

"Sir, you need you evacuate your village before the flames of battle reaches here."

"Gods praise ye, good people! Gods praise ye one and all! We lives in constant fear of what the Grimleal will do to us, so we does! 'Ere!" He reaches into his robes and pulls out a staff similar to what Lissa uses. "Take this staff with me blessings! It can fetch distant comrades to safety. Be sure to place it in the hands o' one gifted in spells or the like. Magic folk be able to reach the farthest with it!"

Reina tales the staff and nods. "Thank you very much. Now, please close your gates until this battle is over."

"You have my gratitude, young child. May Naga guide you and your people to victory." With that, the elder walks pass the threshold of the village gates and signaled to the gatekeepers to shut and lock them down.

"A–H!" Reina snaps her attention at Meena and her eyes widen in horror when she sees Meena being pushed to the ground by dark magic from the head of the army, Chalard.

"Meena!" Reina shouts and draws out an arrow to her bow, aiming at him.

"Ha ha! You dare defy Grima, god of annihilation?" The dark mage demands.

"…There are two things that I hate. One, the people who are precious to me gets hurt and two…" Reina grips her arrow harder. "The ones who hurt them!" She declares glaring at the dark mage.

"Then you will die as his sacrifice!" Chalard withdraws his tome, Nosferatu, and fires a dark spell at Reina. Reina moves away while Éclair jumps into the air.

"Éclair, Thunderbolt!" Reina lets out the order.

"Pika–CHU!" Éclair electrocutes at the Grimleal leader and shortly, Reina shoots the arrow straight into the heart.

"Master Grima… my life force… is yours…" Chalard lets out a final gasp as his life left his body.

* * *

"This is just the worst. Day. EVER!" The manakete, who the Shepherd learn is named Nowi, cried.

"Ho now, wee one! Do not make with the crying of tears. The evil people are now dead people. This is good, no?" Gregor asks as Jang comforts her dragon friend.

Nowi starts to calm down slightly at the revelation. "You… You're right. Th-thank you. And… I'm sorry I was so mean to you earlier. I just got nervous around people who are… outside my age group."

"Your age group? Ha! Gregor much closer to your age than others here!"

Chrom walks up to the two. " Say, um… Gregor, was it? Gregor, do you mind looking after her? We need to press on."

"Mmm… Gregor is mercenary, yes? Maybe you hire Gregor instead." He suggests. "True, Gregor just finished killing former employers, but still very reliable! So long as you not try to hurt the little girl, Gregor will not hurt you. Also Gregor need steady income. …Many angry former employers."

"You're a sellsword?"

"Yes! Very sell sword! Cost performance very high. You have Gregor's word." He answers with pride.

Chrom smiles at the enthusiasm. "Sure, why not? You're hired."

"But! But what about me and Jang?! We WON'T go back on the auction block!" Nowi exclaims holding the creature close to her.

Lissa gasps in shock. "Wait. You've been sold? Like a… like a slave?!"

"To men more despicable than you can possible imagine. They made me transform for them… They drank and laughed and called out tricks… I probably wouldn't be able to escape if it weren't for Jang."

"Jyako!" Jang cries.

"It's a Jyarako." Meena says as Reina takes out her Zukan.

 **"Jyarako, the Scaly Pokémon. It smacks the scales on its head against rocks or against the ground to frighten its opponents. It can also contact its friends with these noises."**

"That's right! That's what Jang told me." Nowi confirms.

"What kind of scumbag boy and sell a little girl?! Even if she CAN turn into a dragon…" Lissa exclaims in outrage.

"She may be little, milady, but not nearly so young as you might think. Manaketes live a very long time." Frederick explains.

"Really? …How old are you?"

"Oh, I dunno. …A thousand… something? But look! No wrinkles!" The manakete says as if it was the natural thing in the world.

"Pika?!" Éclair exclaims.

"To think that you look younger than us." Reina says.

"Awww thanks!"

"The dragonkin are said to be more resilient than men." Frederick speaks up. "Nowi would make a strong ally. Besides, we cannot risk her falling back into the hands of the Grimleal."

"Beg pardon, but who are the Grimleal?" Robin asks the knight.

"Oh yeah, I was wondering about that too." Reina adds.

"Followers of the fell dragon, Grima. The selfsame dragon the first exalt defeated a thousand years ago. Even today there are some who yearn for the fiend's return."

"I… see." Robin says, a little uneasy with a group worshipping a being of destruction. Drago senses her uneasiness and nuzzles against the tactician hand in comfort.

"Well, shall we get some rest? We're almost to the Plegian capital. We'll need all our strength, soon enough…" Flavia suggest.

As everyone agree to the plan, Meena notices her sister is looking towards where the capital is with a stern look.

"Sis?" She calls out getting Reina's attention. "Are you okay?"

Reina looks down and stares back at the direction. "It's just that I have this weird feeling…"

"A weird feeling?"

"Like something might happen when we save Emmeryn."


	14. Rescue Attempt

Chapter 14: Rescue Attempt

Sometime later, after Nowi, Gregor, and Jang joined the Shepherds, the company continue their destination in Plegia to rescue Emmeryn. Soon after, day turned into night and they decided to rest and continue the next day.

Once the camp is set up, the two khans, Chrom, Robin, and Reina are gathered in the tent when one of Basilio's men, a spy sent to gather information on the future execution.

"The exalt is to be executed at the castle on the marrow." The spy reported. "I heard it from the king's own lips, sire."

"This is it, then." Basilio growls, not pleased with the news.

Chrom look towards his tactician. "Exactly as you predicted, Robin."

"So far, yes. But tomorrow will be the true test…" Robin trails off, contemplating just how well their plan will go.

Flavia slaps Robin on the shoulder, surprising the white-haired woman. "Chin up, there! Show some confidence! It's your thinking that's got us this far. The plan is risky, but only as much is called for."

"We'll find a way to see it through, Robin. Don't worry. This time tomorrow, we'll be swapping stories with Emm on the road home." Chrom assures.

"I hope you're right." Robin replies.

* * *

In a dark, shadowy place, the dark mage, Validar is talking once again to a mysterious figure.

"Master Grima, Exalt Emmeryn is to be put to death on the marrow. Events will soon be back on course."

"…"

Validar grows a wicked smile across his face knowing what the figure was saying. "Ha ha, yes, I should never have doubted the truth of your word. The yoke of destiny cannot be cast off! Even as they resist, they write your future with every step, O great one!"

"…"

* * *

"…AAAAAH!"

Robin wakes up with a start, sweating bullets and breathing heavily. Drago wakes up from her scream and rushes to where his trainer is.

"Mozu?" He asks in concern and at that moment, Lissa comes in the tent and notices Robin's behavior.

"Robin? Hey, Robin! What's wrong? Was it a nightmare?" Lissa asks.

"Is… is that what is was? Y-yes, it must have been…" She says slowly to herself before shaking it off. "I'm sorry, what bring you here, Lissa? Was there something you needed?"

"Frederick says it's time to march. And we can't start the plan without our master tactician!"

"Right… of course."

Robin dusts herself off and follows Lissa out of the tent, but she feels something pulling her causing the tactician to look down at her Pokémon.

"Mozu?" Drago questions again after letting go of Robin's clothes with his mouth.

"Drago… Don't worry. I'm fine." Robin assures.

"Robin!" The female tactician and Drago look up to see Reina walks towards them with Éclair perching on her shoulder.

"Reina, did you come to pick me up too?"

"Yeah. You were taking a while, so I came to check on you." Reina says

"Pika pika." Éclair adds.

"Okay. I was about to go to join the others."

"Then, let's go!" The Pokémon trainer grabs Robin's hand and drags her to where the others are with Drago following them.

~Later~

At the Plegian Castle, one of the soldiers has Emmeryn on the edge of a cliff ready for the execution. Gangrel grins at the bottom of the canyon, addressing a large crowd.

"Good people! Warriors of Plegia! Welcome! Welcome, one and all! Your anticipation electrifies the air! We ALL remember the crimes of Ylisse… Would you have their witch-queen answer for them? Here? Today? NOW?" He shouts as the crowd cheers causing him to grin. "YEEEEEEEEEEEES! Finally, we will have JUSTICE! EXECUTIONER! If you would be so kind…" Gangrel gestures the barbarian behind Emmeryn.

"Favia!" Robin calls.

"I've got him!" The female khan nods.

Just as the barbarian about to strike down Emmeryn, Flavia tosses her axe at him. The weapon strikes and kills him.

"EVERYONE: NOW!" Robin shouts, signaling the time for rescue.

"Take out all the soldiers first! We'll deal with the Mad King later!" Chrom adds.

"Ell!" Luke nods as he gets in a ready stance.

Instead of getting intimidated, Gangrel's grin grows wider. "Oh will you now? Bwa ha! We've expecting you, Little Prince." He says and turns to his soldiers. "Men: Kill him. Kill his sister. Kill his troops and his friends and anyone else you find! KILL THEM AAAAAAAAALL!"

All the Plegian soldiers who are nearby charge at the enemy army except one dark mage in back of group with black hair and a very revealing outfit. She seems uninterested in fighting and look bored.

"So, we'll to kill or die here, simply because the king commands it?" She murmurs to herself. "Pfft. What do I care of these Ylisseans? We're given no reason to fight, only orders. What's the point? Besides, I've always been quite good at choosing who to hate on my own…"

Behind her a small creature floating in the shadow while staring at the two armies.

A bit of time passed, a blond-haired person, female priest clothing and a large fox with stunning gold fur and nine equally stunning tails appear on the field. The newcomer looks up and sees Emmeryn near the edge of the cliff. "Exalt Emmeryn! No! Gods speed me to her side! Let us go, Venus!" She and the fox charges through the field, killing off Plegians to get to the exalt with the priest holds an axe and the fox breathes out fire.

As he watches how their forces are losing to the Shepherds, an elderly Plegian knight is frustrated at the side of it. "Where is the damn wyvern brigade?! Hurry! Close off their escape!" He orders.

Chrom, flanked by Luke and Reina, notices the newcomer cutting down a couple of Plegian soldiers along with the fox backing the newcomer up by breathing fire once more. He narrows his eyes and approaches the figure. "You there! Who are you? Why do you fight alone?"

The blonde looks to the person who is referring to her and gasps. "Good heavens! You're Prince Chrom, brother to Her Grace the Exalt!"

"You know me?" Chrom asks.

"Know you? Of course, sire! All Ylissean clergy do. I must thank the gods for uniting us! Oh, dearest and most heavenly fa-"

"Will all due respect, now is not the time for prayer–it's action that's called for." Chrom interrupts.

This got the clergy to remember their situation. "Ah, too true! We hurried to help as soon as word came of the execution."

"We? Then there are more of you?"

"Alas, there were. I lost many brave comrades along the way. In truth, Venus found me, I was starting to doubt the purpose of my struggles… But no longer! Pray, sire, let my axe serve you and your party!"

Chrom nods with a smile. "Your love for my sister is clear. I would be honored to be joined by such a formidable woman of cloth."

The fox, Venus, closes her eyes with a huff as silence goes over them.

"…Man, sire. Man of cloth."

Chrom blinks in surprise. "You're a… You're not a woman?" Chrom asks.

"No, sire. Women are clerics. I am a priest. Well, technically a war monk, if you care to split hairs…"

"Oh. Yes, well, I'm… I didn't to imply… Well, this is rather awkward." Chrom stutters.

"Oh, it's all right, sire. You realized your mistake quickly enough. It could have been much more awkward. …MUCH more…"

The prince gets the point she - rather he, is trying to make. "Right! Let's stop there."

When Reina snipe another Plegian soldier, she notices that Chrom has finished talking to the war monk and notices the fox by him.

"That's Kyukon!" She exclaims and takes out her Zukan.

 **"Kyukon, the Fox Pokémon. With its nine tails and think golden coat, Kyukon is said to live a thousand years."**

Reina looks away from her Zukan to the war monk and the Kyukon, Venus before smiling at them.

"He's lucky to meet up with that Pokémon."

Soon after, the war monk and Venus join among their rank and introduces himself as Libra. The group them continues onto the fight as Chrom and Luke meet the dark mage, who didn't cast a single spell against neither Plegian nor Ylisseans and Feroxi soldiers.

"You there!" Chrom calls. "Are you with the Plegians? You seem reluctant to fight."

"Death comes for all of us eventually." She simply says. "Why invite early, fighting for a cause I don't believe in?"

Her response confuses Chrom. "So… I should take that as a no, or…"

"Let just say I'm keeping my opinions open. I mean, long live the king and all, but I'd like to keep living as well. And I have a bit of a rebellious streak, I'm afraid. A… dark side."

"Then perhaps you would rebel now and fight for our cause?" Chrom offers.

"You would trust me?" She asks. "What if this is all just a ploy to plunge a dagger in your back?"

Chrom shakes his head. "My sister, the exalt – I think she would trust you. And I'm trying to learn from her. Besides, I already need to watch my back, whether you're with us or not."

"Well, that's odd… Usually when I bring up the backstabbing bit the discussion is over. All right, then – consider me your new ally. …For now along with my friend."

"You're friend?"

On que, a bluish-green, body-less, ghost-like creature coming out of hiding behind the dark mage's back. The creature has with long, flowing lilac-tipped hair, large red eyes, and round gems around its neck.

"This is Marie." The mage introduces. "She is really shy when meeting with someone."

"I see… And your name?" Chrom asks.

"…Tharja."

Meanwhile, Reina go to the leading Plegian with Meena following her as a cleric.

"You'll never save your precious exalt, scum!" He shouts.

"You'll never know until we try." Reina says setting an arrow on her bow.

"That's right!" Meena agrees.

"Not for long." The Plegian knight tosses his short spear at them.

The two trainers scatter and Reina shoot a few arrows at him, but due to how think his armor is and how small her arrows are, her attacks are doing nothing.

"Haha! Are you even trying? There's not even a scratch on me!"

"I wouldn't be too sure of that. Also, haven't you noticed despite the fact that we have Pokémon partners, they're not with us?" Reina questions.

The Plegian looks side to side to find their Pokémon and then looks up to see a figure is dropping under the sun. Seeing this causes him to widen his eyes and shouts, "It can't be!"

"Fuko, Air Slash! Éclair, Iron Tail!"

"Lu, Brick Break!"

Above them, Éclair, and Lu leap off Fuko getting ready to attack as Fuko sends multiple light blue glowing saw disc-like energy blades from its wings while Éclair's tail begins to glow white and Lu's paw glows white. The Plegian knight raises his shield to block the coming hits, yet the three moves easily break through it and kill him.

"Urgh… Killing be will only… feel Plegian's rage…" He manages to say before he died.

At that moment, Reina quickly turns to the rest of the group, who finish the other Plegians.

"Chrom! We finished the general over here!" She shouts.

"Okay! Robin! Their wyvern riders have fallen! They skies are clear!" Chrom adds from his side. "I'm giving the signal!" He gives some kind of signal and a few Pegasus Knights fly in with Philia in the lead.

"Your Grace!" She cries out.

"Philia! I'm so glad to see you're safe!" Emmeryn exclaims. "But how-"

"Khan Basilio's men freed me. Come, we must hurry!" She flies her mount towards the exalt.

"What? Pegasus knights? How did they?" Gangrel looks less please, gritting his teeth and turning his glare towards Robin. "That damned Ylissean tactician does NOT play fair!"

"Heh heh heh… Yes, well. Neither do I." Aversa giggles evilly.

All of a sudden, to the Shepherds' shock, Risen archers appear in large numbers.

Robin looks around the area in a panic state, struggling to count the amount of Risen that appeared. "Risen?! Oh gods, no! Chrom! There are Risen everywhere!"

"Damn! Not now!" Chrom curses.

"Bwa ha ha! Oh, did an army of living corpse just APPEAR out of the blue?! Truly, the heavens smile upon mighty King Gangrel this day! Bwa ha ha ha!"

Reina notices a Risen archer about to shoot at Philia and the other Pegasus Knights and quickly draws her own arrow aiming at the Risen.

"I won't let you!" She shouts and when she about to let go, Meena notices something coming towards her, and fast.

"Reina, look out!" Meena shouts pushing her and herself to the ground before a sword could contact them.

The two sisters look up to see a young man standing with his back towards them while his ruffled black hair sways by the wind. He then turns around revealing a mask with horizontal lines above where his eyes are. He also wears black and red clothes with black boots. In his hand, a long katana with a water lily charm hanging the end of the hilt.

The two then hears Philia scream in pain and see that she got shot by the Risen and falling to the ground.

"Risen… How? Y-Your Grace, I… Forgive me… Uhh…"

"Philia!" Emmeryn cries.

"Exeunt one pegasus knight! Bwa ha ha! Watch how they fall, one by one!" Gangrel cackles with a sadistic gleam.

Then one by one, the pegasus knight under Philia were slain by the Risen archers without mercy.

"No no no…" Robin speaks in disbelief.

"We've lost…" Chrom mutters.

"I believe this is what they call a reversal of fortunes." Gangrel says. "Now, grovel before me. Plead! Beg for your worthless lives!"

"I'd give up my life before I'd beg for it from you."

"Oh, now THAT is a good line. A fitting epitaph for your tombstone, perhaps? But it's not just your life in the balance. The exalt still stands upon the block. And I have a dozen bows trained on her. All it would take is one word from me…"

"Emm!" Chrom calls. "Hold on, I'm–"

The Mad King immediately shouts. "ARCHERS! If this Ylissean pup so much as twitches, let fly your arrows!"

"I… I'll kill you!" The prince shouts back at the king.

"Go ahead! I welcome it. Just know you were responsible for Big Sister's bloody demise! And what of the rest of you? Eh? Who wants the honor of killing the exalt?"

Everyone remains silent and hold their ground as they are being pushed into the corner. Seeing this, Gangrel frowns, "…No one? Bah! Your merry band isn't quite so headstrong anymore, is it? Pathetic!"

"Damn you!" Chrom curses.

"Now, now, my boy–no one needs die today. Not you. Not the exalt. Not your friends. Just lay down your sword, call of your pets and give me the Fire Emblem."

Chrom hesitates as everyone looks at him.

"…I…"

"Chrom! You can't trust him!" Robin shouts in hopes that he would listen to her.

"OF COURSE I can't trust him! I'm not an idiot! But if I just say no, he'll kill her! The gods are cruel, damn them! My sister or my duty… A problem with no right answer, yet I must choose!"

If he refuses to hand him the Fire Emblem then Emmeryn's life will be endanger, but if he accepts…

"No!" Reina shouts.

Chrom looks taken a back. "Reina…"

"Are you really going to give up just like that! What's the point of coming all the way here to save the exalt!"

"That's right! Don't give up! There has to be a way!" Robin says with conviction.

Chrom grimace, "If there is, I can't see it… Ah, gods!"

Gangrel have enough of waiting. "I will count to three! Throw down your weapons, or your Exalt becomes the world's largest quiver. One! Two! Thr–"

"Gangrel, hold!" Chrom interrupts before his expression falls. "…You win. Everyone, lay down yo–"

"No wait!"

"Everyone stops and looks up towards Emmeryn still standing on the cliff.

"SILENCE!" Gangrel exclaims.

The prince turns to his sister, "Emm…"

"King Gangrel, is there no hope you will listen to reason?" Emmeryn questions with hope.

"You mean listen to more of your sanctimonious babble? I think not. No, all I want to hear now is the THUNK of arrows, and a SPLAT as you hit the ground. Take one, long, last look from your perch. You do so enjoy looking down on people… then prepare to meet the ground, and your maker! That is, unless someone were to give me the Emblem… NOW!"

Emmeryn remains silent at the answer.

"ALL RIGHT! All right… Emm, I know you won't approve, but this is my final decision. MAYBE someday we'll face a crisis where MAYBE the Emblem would've helped… But I know for a fact that Ylisse needs you, today! The people need their Exalt. And we need our sister. If those dark days should come, we'll face them together!"

"Chrom… Th-Thank you. I know now what I must do…"

"Emm, what are you–"

"Plegians! I ask that you hear the truth of my words! War will win you nothing but sadness and pain, both inside your borders and out. Free yourselves from this hatred! From this cycle of pain and vengeance. Do what you must… As I will do. See now that one selfless act has the power to change the world!" She announces to the crowd as she steps closer to the cliff.

"Your Grace!" Reina shouts as she about to run towards her, but the man in front of the sisters stops her.

"Emm, no! No!" Chrom exclaims and runs as fast as he can towards his sister.

Meanwhile, Emmeryn looks around her one last time.

 _"No reaction… Was I wrong, then? Chrom, this is some torch I'm passing you…"_

"So be it." She says to herself with sadness, but at the same time she feels as peace. Emmeryn keeps walking until she reaches the edge of the cliff and let her body lean forward until she falls.

 _"Chrom… Lissa… And all my people… Know that I loved you."_

Her body hits the ground with a resounding thud, silence spreading across both armies as what Emmeryn did sinks.

Chrom could only stare in anguish at the sight, his body trembles heavily and falls to his knees with tears running down his face.

"Emm…"

"Oh gods…" Robin speaks in shock.

"DAMN YOU GANGREL!" Chrom exclaims in anger.

"NOOOOOO!" Lissa cries as Chi tries her best to comfort her.

Like everyone else, Reina is shocked from Emmeryn's action and quickly changing it into anger, glaring at the Mad King. "How dare you!" Before she could do anything, the swordsman blocks her path causing her to aim her arrow at him. "Get out of my way!" She shouts and fires the arrow straight at his head, subsequently, he dodges it at close blank range as the arrow chips the mask on left side and eventually breaks that side. The swordsman immediately has his left-hand block from being seen on his left side of his face. However, the man slowly lowers his hand showing his left side of his face, causing both Reina and Meena to be shock at who he really is.

"Bwa ha ha haa! Well now! …How disgustingly noble." Gangrel insults. "And so lovely a fall! Ah… SO ends Emmeryn, Ylisse's most exalted! But how can we ensure everyone remembers this beautiful moment of her sacrifice? Perhaps we should gather up her body and put it on display! Bwa ha ha…"

"Gangrel! You die today!" Chrom swears.

Before Chrom could rush forward and potentially do something drastic, Basilio and Flavia rush to stop the enraged prince.

"No, boy!" Basilio holds Chrom back. "I secured an escape route! We have to flee!"

Chrom looks over to where his sister's body lies, his fists shaking. "B-but… her body… I have to…"

"You have to RUN! Now do it! Robin! Don't let him do anything stupid!"

Before Chrom could do anything, the tactician grabs the man by the wrist and pulls him. "Chrom, we have to go." She says and looks at the Reina and Meena. "Reina! Meena! We have to go!"

Meena manages to snap of her stupor and looks at Robin. "O-okay!" She replies and looks at her sister. "Reina."

Reina is still shock staring at the man in front of them.

"Y-You're… But why…?"

"Sis!" Meena calls as she pulls Reina and they rush off with the militia.

Off in the distance in the desert, Marth stops in her tracks with Allena as she catches her breath. "No! No… I'm too late… Our bleak future is written once more. And darkness awaits us all." She falls to her knees. Allena sees this and grows worried for her partner. She approaches Marth and licks her face to cheer her up and the swordswoman hugs the Iwanko.


	15. Sudden Illness

Chapter 15: Sudden Illness

After a failed attempt to save Emmeryn, the Shepherds have been running for hours since they left the execution grounds. The sky darkens as clouds cover the sun and rain begins to pour down the dry desert filled with large bones-like stone structure. It wasn't long before Basilio stops in his tracks and turns around.

"Hurry! There should be carriages waiting just through the ravine!" He tells them.

Chrom stays silent at his word.

"Chrom, please!" Robin begs.

"Rrgh… I'm… I'm coming." The man finally says in defeat.

"Now quickly! We're almost…" Basilio looks back ahead and sees something that takes him by surprise. "Huh? Damn!" A pair of brigands block their path. "Plegians! I knew it couldn't be that easy… They're right in our way! We must fight!"

"Ylisseans!" A voice cries out. "I offer you mercy! Surrender to me and live!" The voice comes from a bearded man who seems to be the leader of the army.

"Surrender? Sorry, I'm not familiar with that word." Basilio tells him.

"Emmeryn would not have wished for this to come to bloodshed."

Upon hearing this, Chrom perks up with anger burning in his eyes. "Don't speak her name!"

Despite what the prince said, the man neither smiled nor frowned in anger. Instead, he nods. "Your rage is justified, Prince Chrom. But the meaning of your sister's final sacrifice was not lost on me. I suspect many Pleginas who heard her final words would say the same. If you lay down your weapons, I vow to protect you as best as I can."

"How can we trust you after what your barbarous king has done?" Frederick demands. "I think we shall take our chances with weapons in hand!"

"I suspect you would say as much. So be it, Prince Chrom. I shall endeavor to grant you a swift and dignified end.

Despite their low morale and fatigue, the Shepherds quickly draw out their weapons and follow the female tactician impromptu that she made on the spot. Even with Robin's concern, Reina quickly rushes out to the battle field with Reina behind her. While the Shepherds slowly dwindling their ranks, the leader is having a conversation with one of his men.

"Forgive me, sir, but I… I no longer see the justice in hunting these people down." The soldier says. "I accept any punishment you see fit, but after all that's happened… I just can't."

"How dare you question the general's orders! You know full well the punishment for insubordination is death!" A wyvern rider near them reminds the soldier.

"B-But sir! These people are–"

"These questions are not ours to ponder, lad." The general calmly interrupts. "The soldier does not judge. The soldier delivers punishment."

"Sir, I… I cannot raise my lance against them. Even if… Even if it means death."

The general seems to have realize he was there during her death as well. "…You were there when Emmeryn spoke, weren't you?" He asks. "So be it! Those of you unwilling to fight are dismissed!"

"But I don't wish to abandon you, sir!" The soldier continues.

"I cannot defy the king, lad. I know him well. He would murder my wife and child to set an example. I will accept the blame for your action today. Now go!"

"W-wait, general! I see a cause worth fighting for, one I believe in: loyalty to my general."

"…Aye. That's a good lad." The leader speaks.

After a long period of fighting against the Plegian soldiers with reinforcements still coming in, Chrom and Robin manage to get past them as they make their way to the general.

"I am General Mustaga of Plegia." The general says. "If you wish to keep your lives, then you must win them!"

As he says this, Chrom rushes over to the general and attacks the man only for it to be blocked. Reina uses this chance to launch her arrow at him as it hit the general directly on the shoulder. Robin then rushes up and dealt with the finishing blow.

As the man collapses on the ground dying, he mutters, "Well done, Ylisseans… Please… spare my men…"

With that, the general is dead along with many of his men who died before him. Then a young woman with pink hair and dressed in clothing of a danger with a white head dress rushes over to them. "Khan Basilio!"

"Olivia! I'm sorry we kept you waiting." Basilio apologizes.

"When I didn't hear from you, I thought… I assumed the worst." The woman, Olivia says.

Basilio turns to the prince and the tactician. "Chrom? Robin? Meet Olivia. She'll be smuggling us out of here."

"Only if you hurry! Doubtless more of Mad King's men are on their way."

"Right! Pile in, you lot! And bid farewell to this Plegian hellhole." Basilio orders. Everyone follows the two to a caravan of wagons and quickly go into them.

"Ready? Hold on tight!" Olivia tells them as they make their escape.

It wasn't long before they could all see the skeletal stone figure of the ravine far behind them that they know they are safe from danger. They continue to travel in solemn silence as the harsh storm continues as if the heavens are crying tears over the death of their exalt. Although they survived the sudden ambush on them, nobody feels as relief as some hoped.

Occasionally, they would fight off bandits and some soldiers who come after them. After a while, they finally stop in the woods just on the border close to Ylisse.

As they get off, Chrom looks around. "I-it seems everyone has managed to survive."

"It may be my imagination, but it seems the enemy has become even more aggressive." Frederick says with a frown.

Stahl nods in agreement. "They were all really bloodthirsty and cruel. Like they were bandits or something!"

"Stahl, some of them ARE bandits." Reina points out. "But I agree with you."

"Were the rumors of rebellion false?" Robin wonders.

"I wonder. I saw a sorcerer in the enemy lines laughing as he attacked his own comrades." Gaius says and frowns. "The guys he attacked all panicked too. No matter how you look at it, that's not a friendly fire, more like a falling out."

"Unbelievable…"

"By the way, Gaius, should we go in this direction?" Chrom asks.

"I-I want to ask that too! I-I'm not trying to say I don't trust you! I just never gone through here before…"

The thief nods. "Yeah. There should be a ghost town around here where we can hide."

Frederick looks around. "We must rest soon. Everyone is at their limits after the battle and all these fights."

Virion frowns as he mutters examining the surroundings. "A withered forest and slimy earth. A village located in the heart of the mountains. It's been quite a long while since anyone lived there."

"That's true. There's no way crops would grow in this kind of soil." Stahl agrees then he gasps and points in a direction. "Over there!"

"A small abandoned village! It's really there!" Robin says in surprise.

"The majority of the old houses are already decaying. It doesn't look to be uninhabited." Virion examines.

"It's enough to keep off the rain. It is no palace, but right now, I want nothing more than to let Lissa rest." Chrom adds.

"I-I'm all right now! Ehehe… sorry, everyone. I couldn't stop sobbing, even though we were in the middle of battle… I'm all right now!"

Stahl sighs unconvinced by her words. "You don't look 'all right' at all, Lissa."

"Uh… that's not true!"

"Chrom, you must rest as well. Your wounds still hurt, do they not?" Robin asks.

The prince shakes his head. "I'm… fine. We must not… linger here."

The tactician grimaced a frown. " Chrom… Your anger is not yet spent…"

"Of course not!" The man shouts. "I will not forgive those dastards who killed Emm!"

Luke looks at Chrom with a worried expression.

"R-right…" Robin replies and suddenly, a surprised look comes across the tactician's face as she nearly trips.

"Mozu!" Drago calls.

"Robin?" Lissa asks with concern. "What's wrong, all of a sudden?"

"Ah… um… I-it's nothing. I simply missed a step."

Lissa looks unsure of her response. "Huh? Really?"

"Yes. Pay me no mind. C-come, everyone, we'll catch our breath here. Don't worry, we just need to wait here until everyone has recovered from the fatigue and injuries. We'll surely return to Ylisse after all this."

They nod as the group heads over to the village as Meena looks over at Reina who has a downed look on her face.

"Reina, are you okay?" She asks.

"Y-Yeah… I'm fine." Reina replies as Éclair looks at her with concern.

Not long after they take refuge from the rain, Robin sends the candy thief to scout their surroundings as Chrom, Robin, and some of the soldiers go out to check the area. After a couple of hours, Gaius returns with new as he hands the bundle of food to Stahl, whose stomach wouldn't stop growling.

"But there's nowhere else to hide around here. What do we do?" Meena questions.

Frederick then looks over to the bundle of food Gaius brought with him in Stahl's hand. "Gaius, you can't have."

"Huh?" The green armored knight looks up with a question look.

"Hey, hey. Do you doubt me. I didn't steal it." Gaius says.

Frederick chuckles, "I'm joking."

"Hah. If I did that, Robin would definitely yell at me, 'Go return it!' I paid for it properly."

"Yeah, we know." Meena replies.

Stahl laughs weakly. "Ahaha… it didn't sound like a joke at all."

Frederick ignores the knight's comment and continues. "But in actuality, our food provisions are steadily diminishing. They will soon reach their limit."

"Do you think maybe that village will give us some food?" Stahl wonders.

"Give up on that." The thief bluntly answers.

"Why?"

"I'm saying you shouldn't approaching the people who live near that abandoned village."

"So… What do you mean?"

Frederick steps back with a gasp in shock and Gaius nods. "More importantly what are Robin and the others up to?"

Frederick returns to his composed self as he begins to answer. Meena looks over to her older sister with a worried look. "Reina? You haven't said a word for a whi-"

Suddenly, the trainer begins to collapse to the ground only to be caught by her sister.

"Reina!" Meena shouts. "Hey! Are you all right?!"

The three rushes over to them with a worried look.

"What's wrong?!" Frederick asks, stunned by the sight.

When hearing the weak breathing, Meena touches her forehead with her hand and she frowns. "She has a severe fever."

Their eyes widen in shock as Frederick quickly orders Stahl to get the healers and looks back at Reina.

"How did this happen? She was fight just a moment ago…" The great knight mutters.

Then they hear a gasp, causing them to turn to see it was coming from the thief, whose eyes widen in surprise. "A fever? …Don't tell me… Robin got one too." The two looks at Gaius in shock as he explains, "She was acting weird earlier too, remember? When the princess was asking her if something was wrong. She nearly fell."

"I hope not…" Frederick trails off.

* * *

As Chrom and Robin walk through the rain to the abandoned village with Lissa, Virion, Luke, Drago, and Chi, the tactician calls out from where she stands, "Look. Over here."

The walk over to her as the Ylissean prince says in surprise, "A graveyard."

Sadden by the sight, Lissa frowns as she looks around. "There's so many of them… what in the world happened here?"

"A cluster of simple graves marked only by stones." Virion says with a sad look. "Yet would be correct to thing that they are the graves of those who fell in battle."

"But that's ridiculous! For there to be a war up on this mountain…"

Luke shifts his gaze at Chrom as he explains to them, "Ylisse and Plegia have continued to quarrel since times of yore. The numbers of skirmishes have decrease during Emm's reign, but it seems that they occurred frequently in every corner of the continent in Father's time. Disaster may have fallen this village then."

Robin frowns. "The war has continued for so long."

"Very well. Then shall we offer these flowers?" Virion suggests. "I went through the trouble of gathering them after all."

Lissa nods. "Yeah. Good idea. Let's place them on the graves."

As Lissa leaves with the archer and her partner Pokémon behind the two, Chrom frowns and mutters, "So flowers bloom even in this soil."

Robin nods weakly. "Yes. You're right. Even in a place like this."

Chrom, Luke and Drago look at her with a question look.

"Robin?" Chrom says with uncertainty at her unusual words.

"The two kingdoms have been at war since ages past." Robin continues. "Why continue to repeat something so meaningless? Are they trying to destroy each other? Even though war breed nothing but sadness. This… earth where such beautiful flowers grow… is stained with blood."

Chrom frowns. "It is because they have behaved aggressively since ancient times. Most likely after the time Emm spoke of. Ylisse has always been threatened by Plegia."

"Even so! Continue these attempts to destroy each other is sheer folly from both sides!"

"Robin!" The Ylissean prince shouts in anger. "Are you saying that Ylisse is also at fault? Are you siding with the Plegians? With those dastards who killed Emm?!"

"Eru?" Luke calls out.

"T-That's not wat I… meant…" The tactician argues back.

"Then what did you mean?" The captain asks in confusion.

At that moment, Lissa and the two come rushing back.

"W-wait, Chrom! Don't fight!" The princess shouts with tears coming out.

Chrom slowly regain his composure. "Damn! At a time like this, we should be returning to Ylisse as soon as possible and preparing to defeat Gangrel! And yet, I… what am I doing here?"

"Chrom…" Robin calls. "It is especially at a time like this… that you must remain calm… and lead… everyone…"

Suddenly, Robin staggers as she tries to keep herself up only to start falling back.

"Mozu!" Drago shouts in surprise.

Lissa gasps in shock. "Robin?!"

Virion quickly rushes over and catches the woman just in time as Chrom rushes over to his tactician in a panic. "R-Robin?"

Virion raises an eyebrow as he jokes. "Oh? Whatever is the matter, Robin? You collapsed so suddenly. Did you so long to be embraced in my arms?"

Robin remains silent as her breathing is ragged and her cheeks are flushed red. Virion suddenly frowned as an alertness expression immediately comes over him.

Seeing his demeanor suddenly change, Lissa becomes nervous. "Virion?"

He immediately touches the tactician's forehead. "She… has a terrible fever…"

"W-What?!" Chrom exclaims upon the revelation.

Just then, the group hears footsteps running over to them causing Chrom to turn around quickly in surprise. "Damn! Not now! Don't tell me-"

Luke brings his arms out and shakes his head, indicating that the footsteps does not belong to the Plegian soldiers.

"Prince Chrom!"

The group begins to relax upon hearing the familiar voice and a figure of the East-khan comes rushing over to them. However, the frown that Flavia has made the group slightly anxious.

"It's your Pokémon expert! She's fallen ill with a severe fever…"

"What?!" Lissa says in shock.

Her eyes go over to the princess and the female tactician as she grits her teeth in frustration. "Damn it! Not her too! You should bring her to where they are fast!"

I got it!" Chrom replies with an anxious look across his face. "Let's go, Shepherds! Hurry!"

The group nods as Virion quickly carries the tactician and they follow the khan and the prince back to the abandoned house.


	16. Recovering Part 1

Chapter 16: Recovering Part 1

When the rain stopped, the day turned to night as Stahl stands just outside of the abandoned house. He looks up to the sky as the clouds floats away letting the gentle light of the moon comes over him.

"The rain's finally let up, but who knows when it'll start falling again?" He lets out a sigh. "I'm so hungry…"

Terry barks at his partner to pay attention when they hear someone approaching him from behind and turns around just as the figure taps on the knight's shoulder. "Hey. Stop spacing out, Mr. Watchman. Even your partner is paying attention."

The knight jumps up in shock but calms down as he sighs in relief. "Oh. Gaius."

"The moon's pretty dim tonight. Pay attention to your surroundings."

"Yeah, I am. Anyway…"

"You want to know how those two are doing?" Gaius finishes.

Stahl nods. "Yeah."

"Lissa's looking after them constantly along with the other healers. You don't like how they're doing?"

"I went to see Robin a little while ago. My family runs an apothecary. Her illness is like nothing I've ever seen before."

"What?" Gaius says in surprise.

"It's not just a common cold or physical exhaustion, but… right, I think it's some kind of endemic disease." Stahl concludes.

The thief nods with a frown. "Endemic disease… so that's it."

"All we can do is make them comfortable and continue to redress the wound. But still, they really should get plenty of food and rest well."

"You're right." Gaius agrees and suddenly whips his head around as his Manyula, Ace, did the same. "Huh?"

"Gaius?" Stahl asks curious of his action.

"Shh! Keep your voice down! Someone's coming!"

Terry makes an attack stance as Stahl's face grows serious as they also hear the footsteps. "You're right. There's shouldn't be anyone here but us. It can't be… the Plegian army."

The thief shakes his head. "There's only one set of footsteps… it looks like they're alone. A scout, then?"

As a dark cloud covers the light of the moon, there is silence once more.

"The footsteps stopped." Gaius whispers with a raised eyebrow before his eyes widens and gasps upon realization.

"I wonder what's wrong?" Stahl asks curious before getting ready to get up and see, but Terry barks loudly to stop his partner from moving his spot.

"Hey! Don't just look outside like that!" Gaius tells him also trying to stop Stahl."

Suddenly, a woman with blue hair dashes through the bushes with her blade aiming straight for Stahl and it halts just before his neck as the knight screams in surprise.

"I told you! Hey! Don't point that sword at his throat! He's worthless as a hostage!"

Both Ace and Terry give some thought at that Gaius said and nods in agreement.

"Huuuh?!" Stahl shouts in shock. "You guys are horrible!"

The woman looks surprise upon taking a closer look at her hostage then back at them. "You guys… what are you doing here?"

Gaius peers through the darkness only to be shocked upon seeing the figure as the cloud float pass the moon. "Ah. You're…"

Upon hearing the thief's shocked voice, Stahl turns around. "Huh? Oh! You're…"

Light shines on the woman revealing long cerulean blue hair and blue warrior armor. She turns her head behind her as she sheathes her sword.

"Adella, you can come out." Marth says, and a familiar Puppy Pokémon comes out of hiding and runs up to her. "You two, can you tell me why are you all out here?"

"Yeah. The thing is…" Gaius begins to tell Marth what happened after leaving the execution ground.

* * *

Inside the abandon house, the two lies in their own respective beds with a healer for the patient. Meena stays close to her sister's side with an anxious look as did Éclair and Robin rest across the room from her as Lissa sits next to Robin's bed. With a pained look, the female tactician is breathing heavily with sweats pouring from her forehead. Lissa frowns as she squeezes a cloth soaked in water. "It looks like you're in pain… I'll wipe your sweat away."

As she did, Robin mutters weakly, "I'm sorry… Lissa…"

The princess shakes her head. "Don't worry about it. Just let me take care of you."

"The two at the entrance said it was an endemic disease." They turn around to see Marth walking in with Adella as Virion says with a worried look. "So it seems."

"Ugh… think there's nothing we can do…" Chrom grits his teeth.

Adella trots to the bed where Reina is lying and jumps on it as she looks at her with a worried expression.

Frederick looks at the woman in suspicion. "But Marth… what are you doing so deep in the mountains?"

"I follow you here." Marth replies calmly. "I heard you were fleeing from the Plegian army."

Chrom looks up in surprise. "You came to help us again?"

Marth nods. "More importantly, this place is dangerous. The enemy is swiftly closing in. They'll be here within days. They are searching frantically for the prince of Ylisse and his companions."

"For Lord Chrom?!" The knight shouts in shock.

"Damn it!" Flavia says in grimace.

"But Robin and Reina are in poor condition." Virion says anxiously.

"If it is an endemic disease, those who live here may know something about it. Are there any people living nearby?" Marth asks.

"There… is a small settlement." Frederick sighs in frustration. "However…"

Chrom looks to the knight in confusion. "What? Why do you hesitate, Frederick?"

"The people who live near a village destroyed by war are most likely orphans or those who suffered otherwise. That is why. They doubtless hold no love for the Ylisse army and royal family. I doubt they would willingly cooperate with us."

"Whether or not they cooperate. It marks the end for us if they inform the Plegian army of our whereabouts. Though we are near the border, this is still Plegian territory."

"Then I will go alone! I will conceal my lineage and make do somehow!" Chrom says determined.

"E-Everyone… what are you discussing?"

They turn around to see Robin awake once more still having a high fever.

"We're thinking of going to a nearby village to ask for help, but we'll be in trouble if they tell the Plegian army where we're hiding. We're deciding what to do."

Robin shakes her head. "You don't have to go that far. I-I'm all right. S-see?" She says as she tries to get up. "I'm better already."

"Robin!" Lissa calls on shock. "You should stay in bed!"

"Robin. It's fine. Get some sleep. I'm going to pay a visit to that 'village'."

"Chrom! Wait! If anyone is to go, we'll need a plan. Ah, um… Let's see. Please call Stahl.

~Later~

"Honestly, even at a time like this… You're really something." Chrom says in bewilderment.

"How is it? The two of them look just like a married couple on a journey."

"R-Really?" Stahl stammers in embarrassment in his clothing.

Lissa giggle in excitement with her ordinary clothing and hair tied up under her head scarf. "Ehehe! It's fun wearing something different! What do you think, Chi?"

"Tabune~" Chi nods in agreement.

Frederick also nods his head with a hand on his chin. "I see. Even if Lord Chrom hides his lineage, his royal dignity cannot be concealed, and word will spread. And so the one to visit the village must be Stahl, who is complete unremarkable! As expected, Robin! What a magnificent plan!"

The others nod their heads in agreement as Lissa smiles with a nervous sweat drop. "Ahaha… is Chrom really that dignified?"

Stahl, on the other hand, sighs in disappointment. "Hah… I almost feel insulted… but putting me aside, Lissa's the princes, you know?"

Maribelle nods with a frown. "I disapprove of this as well! What if she gets hurt?! Lissa, please don't go."

"Aw, you worried too much Maribelle." Lissa assures with a smile. "I'll be fine. I'm just going to talk with the villagers, that's all. I can handle it."

"Are you sure?" Meena asks with a frown and turns to the tactician. "Robin, are you certain that she won't get attacked if they found out?"

"No," Virion says with a confident smile. "even taking into account her station, Stahl would seem much less suspicious with a woman by his side." He chuckles then turns to the disguised knight. "Either way, you are superbly qualified, Stahl."

"Yes, yes, is that so? Well, in any case, we're going."

Lissa looks back at her. "Wait for us, Robin! Reina! We'll definitely find a way to cure you!"

"Lissa, take care." Fredrick says.

"Don't overdo it, you two." Robin tells them.

"Okay!" The princess calls back.

After waving, the two leave the house as Robin leans back onto the bed goes to sleep. Frederick looks at her anxiously. "Robin has fallen asleep again. However…" He turns to Reina with a look of concern. "She… hasn't awoken yet?"

Meena shakes her head with a worried look as Éclair continues watching over her with her ears drooping. Maribelle frowns as well as she too shakes her head sadly.

"No. Her fever is getting worse and her breathing is ragged. Even though her immune system should be strong as Robin's, it's weak. If we don't get the cure soon…" Maribelle trails off.

Meena holds Reina's hand before clutching it and bites her lip as she trembles.

"Pika…" Éclair calls also worried for her trainer.

"Well then. I shall also depart. I will return to the mountain paths and delay the Plegian soldiers." Marth says.

Chrom turns around in shock. "Alone? That's impossible! It's too dangerous!"

"However, it is also true that we must buy time by some means." Virion says with a nod of agreement. "Very well. I shall accompany you. I'm quite skilled at delaying tactics."

"No." Marth declines. "I can move freely alone. Also, I have Adella with me. You stay here. Please protect them."

"H-Hey! Marth!" Chrom calls out desperately. " Wait! Do you want to die?!"

Marth turns around and answers with a confident look. "It's all right. Rest assure, I will flee if I encounter trouble. And… I am not fated to die here. Adella."

Hearing her name, the Iwanko jumps down from the bed and rushes towards her. She turns around and they leave the door despite the prince's attempt to stop her.

"She left. Who in the world is she, I wonder? She is of course quite skilled, and I know she is a trustworthy warrior, but…"

"But right now, we have no choice but to rely on her." Chrom finishes the knight's sentence with a nod in acknowledgement of the woman's strength.

* * *

As Lissa and Stahl walk towards to the village, the rain pours down once again.

"It's started raining again." Lissa says.

"You're right…" Stahl agrees.

Once they reach to a house of the village, they stop at the door.

"This is the place." Lissa whispers.

"Yeah."

Lissa then knocks on the door. "Hello? Excuse me!"

The door slowly creaks open revealing an old woman who responds, "You two… what in the world… are you doing so deep in the mountains?"

"Um, well, that's… We're a m-married couple on a journey. Will you please share some food-" Stahl gets interrupt by Lissa elbowing him.

"Stahl! That's not it!" Lissa tells him.

"Hmm?" The woman looks at them with perplex look.

"Aah! That's not what I meant!" Stahl panics after realizing his mistake. "W-We're actually traveling with two more people, but it looks like they caught an endemic disease, and they've been delirious with fever for three days. Do you know any way to cure them?"

"Hmm…" The woman stares carefully at the two causing them to be nervous under the stare.

"Ack… she's staring at us…" Lissa whispers.

"Y-Yeah." Stahl whispers back.

"Are you two… really travelers?" The woman questions.

"O-of course! Look!" Stahl shows his clothing at the woman. "No matter how you look at me, I'm normal traveling young man!"

"Hmph."

"Ooh… saying that makes me kind of sad…" Stahl trails off.

"Stahl, do your best!" Lissa cheers.

"There's probably no way to bring down their fever." The woman finally answers.

"Huh!?" Lissa and Stahl says in surprise.

"If it came on after that storm, it really is an endemic disease specific to this area. There are trees around here that release toxins when it gets very wet." The woman continues and turns away. "If it's already been three days, they probably only have one day left."

"T-that can't be…" Lissa says in shock.

"Isn't there any way to save them?!" Stahl asks.

The woman thought for a minute. "Hm… it's not that there isn't one."

"Please tell us!" Lissa pleads.

"Very well… but…"

"They're extremely important to us!"

"…You must bring back a special herb that grows in the depths of this ravine." the woman answers.

"A special herb?" Stahl repeats.

"Aye. It is special because it grows only there. That ravine… the way down is so complicated it cannot even be called a path and its steep cliffs deny people passage. Many travelers like yourselves have gone there, and there is no guarantee that you will ever return."

"Even so, we need it no matter what!"

"Please tell us exactly where this place is!" Lissa pleads again.

"…"

~Meanwhile~

"Hey! Are those Ylisseans really hiding in somewhere in these mountains?"

A plegian soldier nods. "Yeah. If they're trying to escape, they have to be around here. There's no way for them to continue without resting, even if they're on horse back!"

"A place like this? They'll just end up dying like dogs. Look! The storm's getting worse." The man argues back as he points to the rain clouds.

"Will you shut up and march?" The soldier snaps at the man.

"Your march ends here. Turn back."

They turn to see a man with blue hair with a butterfly mask and the soldier laughs. "Hey, look this guy. What's with the mask?"

"One of the Ylisseans?" The mercenary says with suspicious.

The soldier smirks. "Move over, little boy."

"And if I don't? What would you do?" The masked man says.

The soldier laughs. "Aren't you a proud one!"

"You'll move." The mercenary shouts as he charges. "We'll make you! Graaah! Die!"

They all charge at him, but the man jumps back dodging the blade. "Too slow!"

She dashes pass the man and disappears as their mage looks around in surprise. "Wha-?! He's gon-"

Suddenly, screams fill the air as the man's comrades fall to the ground dead. Seeing the scene before him, the man shouts in horror. "You-who are you?!"

A cavalry soldier rushes over to them. "Hey! What's going on here?"

Another mage shouts. "It's the enemy!"

"Y-yeah." A soldier stammers. 'Hey, be a gentleman and scram!"

Marth faces the soldier. "What's the matter? Weren't you going to make me?"

"Oi, all of you!" Their fighter shouts. "Let's get him all at once!"

Suddenly, several sharp rocks strike some of the men.

"An ambush?!" The mercenary shouts and then a figure rushes in from Marth's side. "They're with the enemy!"

"Hang on!" The soldier shouts with a smirk. "It's just a dog!"

Adella growls at them with teeth baring and front left leg out.

"Hah!" The soldier laughs. "With only two of you? As if! Charge!"

As the soldier says that, Adella sends another wave of Rock Throw at the soldiers while Marth frowns as he takes down another brute.

"Even so, there are too many of them for us by ourselves…"

Hearing movements behind Marth, Adella sharply turns her head at her and barks at her to warn her. The masked woman turns around upon hearing Adella's voice and sees a soldier coming at her from behind.

"Take this!"

Before Marth could move, light blinds them as several screams could be heard through the air. When it is done, they look up to see many of their foes down on the ground dead.

Marth looks around in shock. "Was that… Ruin?!" Adella looks up to her with her head tilt. "A dark mage's attack! But… where could it have come from? But if they're divided like this…"

Suddenly, laughter rings through the air as they turn in surprise to see a man with silver hair, like their comrade, but with plegian mage's robe and a purple tome. "Another fight's started? Good~! But splitting from the army would be more fun, hmm? That's why I just killed my own allies. It's been suuuper fun, but soon this battle will be over, you know? And then we'll just stroll around the mountain trails forever and I thought, oh, that would be SO boring… So I'm glad another battle started~ Yay!"

Adella quickly hides behind Marth's legs and trembles in fear from the mage as Marth frowns. "He's… what in the world is he…"

"Hey, you!" A plegian soldier shouts. "You're a dark mage! A plegian soldier! THOSE guys are your enemies!"

"Ahaha?" The mage laughs. "But right now, doesn't the gut wearing the mask look more interesting?"

The soldier stares at him in shock. "W… wha… What the heck?!"

"Well then, let's get on with it! Coming forth from the sludge of hell, I summon thee, thou who art grotesque. Melt them, my puppets. Mire!"

As a globe of slime emerges from the magic circle surrounding the army killing them, Marth says in shock. "It couldn't be… I heard that several days ago, there was mutiny within the Plegian army… Was that his doing as well?"

"Dammit... What the heck is this! Just when we thought Mustafa's lackeys quieted down, this troublemaker just had to show up!" A surviving soldier exclaims.

"No… it seems it's a different situation…" Marth says with a nervous sweat drop.


	17. Recovering Part 2

Chapter 17: Recovering Part 2

After Stahl and Lissa came back to the abandoned house, Stahl leads Chrom, Frederick, and Gaius along with their Pokémon partner to where the herbs are as they rush through the rain.

"I wonder if Lissa, and the two are all right." Frederick asks with a concern look.

"It'll be all right." Chrom says. "The other Shepherds and the khans are with them. But right now…"

"We need to get that herb, right?" Gaius finishes with a frown.

"Aye!" The prince responds.

Frederick looks up. "Th rain has grown stronger again. Let's hurry!"

"According to the old woman in the village, there should be a cliff around here. Ah! There it is!" Stahl points into the distance not too far from them.

"Halt!" Frederick orders their horses.

Chrom and Gaius demounts from Frederick and Stahl's horse as the prince approaches the cliff and looks down into the endless depth. "Here, huh?"

Stahl looks down as his eyes widen in surprise. "W-whoa… it really is a sheer cliff… it's the end of the line if we fall…"

"Heh. Getting scared, Stahl?" Gaius sarcastically asks.

"N-no, I'm not!" The knight immediately denies.

"However, Stahl and I are currently wearing armor. It seems we will not be able to proceed down this path by normal means…" Frederick says.

Chrom gives a thoughtful look figuring out how they can get the herb from this cliff.

"Well, Chrom? Better hurry up if we're going."

Chrom nods and says to them. "No, Frederick and the others will stay here. Gaius, Ace, Luke, and I will go."

"Huh!?" Stahl shouts.

"Unacceptable! I will accompany you! I will not allow you to face such peril alone!" Frederick exclaims.

Chrom shakes his head. "The four of us are unarmored; it is better if only we proceed. You all stay here and watch the horses."

"B-but…"

"Will you be all right?" Stahl asks.

"Aye. Leave the herb to us. And Frederick, if we have not yet returned by the time the sun sets, it is surely because the search is taking some time. In that case, return to Robin and the others for the time being."

"L-lord Chrom…" The knight says in shock.

"Plegian soldiers are closing in. We mustn't leave our comrades alone for too long." Chrom reasons.

"B-but!"

"Hey." Gaius calls. "We're wasting time just standing around talking like this."

"Yes, you're right. Understand, Frederick, Stahl, you guys too?" Chrom asks the four.

"Let's get going already." The thief says and jumps down with Chrom and their partners following him.

The knight gasps with fear on his face. "Lord Chrom! Gaius!"

"They left…" Stahl says with a sigh.

* * *

At the abandoned house, Lissa continues to watch over Robin as she continues to sleep.

"Robin…" She says with a worried look as she turns to Reina. "Reina…"

"Their condition continues to worsen." Virion says with a frown.

"Especially, Reina. We've even nearly lost her a few minutes ago… She needs those herbs immediately or…"

Lissa looks to the entrance with an anxious look to the entrance. "Are Chrom and the others still not back?"

"Not yet, it seems. But rest assured. I will surely protect you ladies. I swear it on my pride as an aristocrat…"

Lissa slowly nods. "Yeah. Thanks, Virion."

Just then, Robin eyes slowly open as she looks around.

"What is Chrom… doing?" The tactician asks weakly with a hoarse voice.

"Ah! Robin!" Lissa calls in surprise. "You've come to! How are you feeling?"

"More importantly… where's Chrom and Frederick?" Robin asks with a worried face. "…Did… something happened?"

"They're-"

"Chrom and the others went out to get the herb that'll cure you two. So relax." The princess answers without hesitation. "You'll definitely get better!"

Virion and Meena sigh at what she just did.

"What are they doing?" Robin says with a frown.

"Huh?" Lissa says in surprise.

"If they have that much time… they should be preparing… to return swiftly to Ylisse… Everyone is waiting… for them to return…"

Lissa looks surprise at Robin's words. "Ah… Robin…"

"I don't want… to put everyone… in any more danger… on my account…" She continues. "You should… take Reina along… it'll be… too dangerous… for them to be here…"

"B-but!" Lissa stammers but before she could finish, Robin falls asleep once more.

"She seems to have lost consciousness again." Virion says.

The Ylissean princess looks to be on the verge of tears watching the female tactician. "Robin…"

"Lissa, the truth can sometimes be cruel. Just now, we should have not told Robin about Chrom, even if it meant lying to her. We should have let her sleep without worrying. Sometimes it is kinder to lie." Virion tells her.

"Ah… s-sorry. I see… you're right."

"Ah, pay it no mind. Well, nothing can be done now. I apologize. I went too far. However, please keep that in mind and act appropriately from now on."

"Ah… yeah!"

Maribelle nods after seeing her cherish friend cheered up and turns to Meena. "Now Meena, what is the meaning of Reina's condition?" She asks. "At her age, Reina's immune system should be strong as Robin's but still have not woken up. Can you care to explain?"

"Wait, Maribelle! Isn't rude to ask her?" Lissa asks.

"…Reina," Meena speaks getting everyone's attention. "To begin with, my sister has a weak constitution."

"Huh?" The princess looks at her with a confuse look.

"Ever since I can remember, I could see her in her bed everyday looking outside longing to go out and explore." Meena continues. "Instead of that, she always reading books and draw the scenery from her window. One time when I was feeling down, Reina would come up to me and cheer me up by showing a portrait of myself. I was happy. That my sister would cheer me up even though she has a weak body."

"As expected from Reina. Even with a weak body, she would cheer up her dear sister." Virion says.

"But...!" Meena shouts as she trembles. "…But the next day, she caught a serious fever that might claim her life."

This cause everyone to be surprise from this revelation.

"I overheard from my parents that she was doing her best to draw my picture to cheer me up. I was my fault! If I haven't feeling down, onee-chan wouldn't have fallen sick…" Her voice trembles as she tries to fight off the tears.

"Meena…" Lissa trails off as she doesn't know what to say.

"It's wasn't your fault…"

They turn to see that Reina woke up still having the fever.

"Onee-chan!"

"I didn't know that you felt that way… I'm sorry, Mee. For having a bad sister like me. But…" Reina lifts her hand and caresses Meena's cheek. "I don't want to have my precious little sister's smile to be clouded with sadness."

"That's not true, onee-chan! It's because you always been kind to me and show me things to cheer me up. That's the part I love the most." Meena replies and touches Reina's hand. "But, the only thing that makes me sad… is seeing you in bed because of your body."

Reina weakly smiles. "Mee…"

"Pika…" Éclair calls as Reina turns her head to her.

"Éclair… I'm sorry… Even though I'm supposed to take care of you… you and Mee are worried for me…"

Éclair shakes her head saying it's not.

"Thank you…" Reina trails off as she begins to fall asleep.

"She fell asleep." Sumia says.

"Hey, Meena. How did Reina get over her fever?" Lissa asks.

"There's a Pokémon that our family protects from one generation after another. With its song, her fever slowly disappears." Meena answers.

"Wow! Where is that Pokémon?"

Meena takes out a Poké ball from her pocket. "It's in here. When we start to travel, this one wants to follow us all over the region."

"But there is one thing that I was wondering…" Maribelle says. "If Reina was born with a weak constitution, how can she be walking around with us?"

"…As years past, her body begins to get stronger as the number of times she got sick goes down and then she got so well to go on a journey with me. But there is one thing that will make her sick again."

"What is it?" Lissa asks.

"An emotion shock to the heart."

"Emotional shock?"

"Does it have to do with the gentleman back at execution ground?" Virion asks.

Meena silently nods. "He is our childhood friend who we haven't heard from him for a year."

"Huh?" Lissa says

"While Reina and I were traveling Hoenn region, he went to Alola region and from there he caught amazing Pokémon over there. That was the last time we heard from him."

"I'm sorry for telling us this."

"I too should apologize as well." Maribelle says.

"You don't have too." Reina tells them.

All of a sudden, Virion whips his head around. "Hm?"

Éclair's ears twitch and looks up.

"Virion? Éclair?" The princess says.

"Shh! Quiet down." Meena says to them. "Lissa, where are the khans?"

"Huh? They said that they are going to patrol the area and come back for a bit. Why?"

"Stand up slowly and look outside the window." Virion tells her and Lissa did as she is told. "A number of people are approaching. These footsteps…"

"Most likely belong to a troop." Meena finishes.

Lissa gasps in shock. "You're right. They're coming closer. Do they know we're hiding here?"

Virion takes a peek out the window. "Plegian soldiers? Ugh… what numbers!"

Lissa peers outside once more and sees a familiar elderly woman leading them. "Oh… that person…"

"The one in the lead is not a soldier. She seems to be one of the villagers… Lissa, do you know her?"

"She's the old woman… from the village Stahl and I went to." She says with a stun expression.

"I see. It seems my bad premonition was correct. Most likely, the villagers there reveal our whereabouts to the Plegian soldiers."

Lissa looks to be on the verge of tears once again. "No… it can't be… why?!"

"Lissa!" Meena calls. "Pull yourself together! For now, we got to think of a way out. It's most likely that we'll have to engage in battle once they reach here."

* * *

Half way down the ravine, Chrom, Gaius and their partners are starting to show signs of difficulty climbing down the cliff without steeping on a loose rock and almost falling down to their death.

"I see." Gaius nods. "They did say it's pretty good at keeping out trespassers. A vertical mountain. If we fall, we go straight to the bottom and die immediately. This definitely isn't somewhere people are meant to go."

"If you don't like it, go back to Frederick and the others." Chrom says with frustration as he nearly steps on a loose rock again if isn't for Luke who notices it. "Thanks, Luke."

The Ellade nods and keeps going down.

"I'm fine. I just think it's not worth it. That's all."

"What?" Chrom says in shock as he and Luke turn to him.

Gaius frowns and continues. "If both of us lose our lives here, we'll have died for nothing."

"Manyu." Ace nods in agreement.

"Gaius." The captain says with a frown. "Are you saying that those two lives aren't worth it?"

"Yeah, exactly. Chrom, which matters more, your life and the lives of all those people… or their lives? You know, right?"

"What?!" Chrom says in anger.

"The winner of a war is the side that survives. You hate Gangrel, and the one way to get revenge against him is to win. I'm saying you have to make choices with that in mind."

Luke widens his eyes at what Gaius mean while Chrom grits his teeth in anger as he tries to keep himself composed. "Keh… Gaius. What do you mean? Are you saying we should give up on Robin and Reina?"

Gaius shrugs. "You know, that deserted village is a Plegian village destroyed by Ylissean a long time ago."

"What?" Chrom looks at the thief in shock.

"Do you know what the Plegians thought of Ylisse during your father's time? And what they called the previous king? There's no way you don't."

The thought hit the prince like a ton of bricks upon the realization. "I-I…"

"That village was destroyed by Ylisse just because it was near the border." Gaius continues and Chrom frowns upon his theory being correct. "War is always absurd. And you, the prince, are searching for power to overcome that absurdity. This isn't the time to be so stubborn."

Luke looks at Chrom who remains silent as they continue down as they finally reach a narrow path and begin slowly descending down with their hands grabbing onto the stones jutting out of the stone wall.

"You get it, right?" Gaius says. "Back then, you told Frederick and the others that they can't take this steep path because they're all wearing armor, but didn't you leave them behind in case we don't come back?" He frowns and concludes. "Even if something happens to us, they can carry on your will. Isn't that what you were thinking?"

Chrom grimaced upon hearing the thought of the thief hitting the mark spot on.

"You knew it was necessary." Gaius continues.

"Gaius." The captain interrupts the man from continuing as they stop abruptly. "Go back to the others. And tell this to Frederick… 'Take the two and return to Ylisse as fast as you can.'"

Gaius raises an eyebrow as he slowly nods. "Got it. …and what about you?"

"I will find the herbs and cure them. And then I will go back."

"Oh. Really. Bye."

Gaius and Ace walk back to where Frederick and the others are leaving Chrom and Luke to find the herb.

"Luke." Chrom calls. "You can go back with Gaius. I will find the herb myself."

 **"Chrom."** The prince looks back at Luke. **"From the moment you told Frederick and the others to stay back there, I knew what you were planning."**

"Luke, you…"

 **"By the looks of it, you finally can hear my voice."** Luke says with a smile.

"You can speak in human speech, but how?"

 **"Not directly through my mouth but through the mind also called telepathy."** Luke explains and his expression changes into a serious look. **"Chrom, no matter what you say or how many you tell me to go back, I will follow you."**

"Luke…" Chrom trails off and turns back around. "…I'm counting on you."

 **"Alright."**


	18. Recovering Part 3

Chapter 18: Recovering Part 3

A Plegian soldier screams as a sword pierces through him and he topples onto the ground dead. Both Marth and Adella pant heavily after facing many soldiers with Marth's mask broken again while the silver-haired Plegian still haven't broke a sweat.

"Oh, was that the last one? It's too bad it's over. But it was sooo much fun!" He says and turns to the two. "Wasn't that an entertaining battle?"

"For now… I owe you. Thank you. To be honest… I hadn't thought there was any way out of that situation."

Adella looks up in surprise.

"Oho?" The mage says with a smile. "So the enemies were THAT strong, huh? Ahaha, but I still haven't gotten enough of the fighting!"

Marth looks at the mage in surprise. "You stil-no… My battle is also not yet over."

"Huuh?" The man says with curiosity as he watches her walk away with Adella. "Where are you going? Ooh, are you going to… keep fighting?"

"Yes. This place may soon become a battlefield." Marth answers.

"Well then! I'm going with you~" The mage concludes.

"W-why?"

"Becaaause, I still haven't played enough! If I stay with you, I could take part in another fun fight~?"

Marth shakes her head. "It's not 'fun'. I have people I want to protect. They may be on the precipice of danger right now. And so I will do everything in my power! That's all!"

"And this one?" The mage asks with a curious expression.

"Yes, Adella is my precious partner. She understands what I am trying to do." Marth answers and the Iwanko barks to agree her statement. "Anyway, we should part ways. Farewell."

The mage remains silent before he runs after them. "–ell. –Er, uh– wait!"

Marth sighs in annoyance and turns around. "What is it now?"

The mage catches his breath. "Just now… I had an ominous vision. Haha! Because I'm a spell caster, you know? Sometimes I can see things."

The woman's eyes widen in surprise. "W-what did you see?"

Then, lighting flashes in the sky. "The people you want to protect… will soon all… go to their destined death, it seems." He says.

His words shock the two. "Wh-what did you say?!" Marth shouts.

* * *

Chrom and Luke finally found the herb, but it is a bit away from them as Chrom pant heavily.

"T-there it is. It's the herb… that will cure that disease!" As he takes a step forward, Luke notices a piece of ground about to break.

 **"Chrom!"** Luke shouts as he pulls him away letting the ground where Chrom has stepped breaks away. **"Chrom, you stay here. I'll get the herb."** With that, Luke carefully approaches the herbs when the piece of ground near his foot slips off from the cliff.

"Wait, Luke." The Ellade looks back at Chrom. "The ground is brittle because of the constant rain here. Try to move as I tell you."

 **"Okay."** Luke replies and continues.

"To the left. Now the right. Back to left. Keep going. Right. A little bit more. Now left." With each move, Luke walks on the path more easily and more closer to the herbs. Once he reaches there, Luke kneels as he smiles and gingerly picks the herbs before coming back to Chrom side.

 **"With these, Robin and Reina will be saved."**

"Aye." Chrom replies when the cliff begins to crumble where the herb was. "Ah! The cliff is ― crumbling! This is bad! At this rate…"

 **"Chrom, hold onto me!"** Chrom puts his arm around Luke's shoulder and the Blade Pokémon quickly leaps from one earth to another that hasn't been collapse. Then all of a sudden, Chrom grunts in pain causing Luke to look at him. **"Chrom!"**

"My wounds has reopened…" Chrom breathes heavily.

Just as Luke lands on a piece of earth that hasn't collapsed yet, it breaks off after under his right foot and loses his hold of Chrom subsequently making the prince to slip away from the Pokémon.

 **"Chrom!"** Luke shouts and catches the captain's hands as his body slams on the ground holding dear life for Chrom as he hangs. Then slowly, Luke begins to lose his grip on him.

"Luke, let go! At this rate, I'll drag you down with me!" Chrom tells him.

 **"I won't! Lissa and Frederick are waiting for us to come back. That's why you have to keep holding on!"**

"Luke…" Chrom says and looks down into the depths and smiles sadly. "Robin… Reina… and Gaius. I'm sorry. Lissa… you'll cry again won't you? Frederick… everyone… I leave… the rest to you…"

Just when Luke lost his grip, a hand appears grabbing Chrom's wrist causing Luke to look at the owner of the hand who is none other than Gaius with Ace holding his foot.

"Y-yo, Chrom! So we meet again!" Gaius greets with a smile.

Chrom looks up with a surprise look on his face. "G-Gaius. W-why did you return?"

"Hey, hurry and grab on!"

"Y-yeah!" Chrom uses his other hand to get a hold on Gaius.

"Okay. I'm pulling you up. Urrrrrrgh!" Gaius exclaims as he pulls Chrom up with the help of Luke and Ace. Once He pulls the prince up, both of them collapse on the ground.

"Y-you saved me." Chrom says as he breathes heavily.

"Did any of you didn't drop that important herb of yours?" Gaius asks.

"N-no. Luke has it safe." The prince replies as Luke nods and shows the herb.

"Good job."

"But, Gaius… why?"

Gaius looks up the gray sky. "I… thought it over. Where am I suppose to be?"

"What do you mean?"

"The place I chose to be is with you and Robin. It's wherever you are. I decided that already. If I leave behind even one of you, I'll have made the wrong choice."

"Gaius…"

The thief looks back at Chrom. "I don't want to think I made a mistake. I changed my mind and came back. That's all."

"I see. Sorry. I didn't understand you at all, even though you're under my command… I really am blind." Chrom admits.

"It was worth coming back just to hear you say that." Gaius says with a smile.

Chrom also smiles and stands back up with Luke and Gaius following him. "All right. Let's go back to Frederick and the others. And then we'll bring this to Robin and Reina right away!"

"Yeah!"

Without further ado, the four hurries to go back to where Frederic and the others are.

~Meanwhile~

Frederick, Stahl, and their Pokémon partners are being surrounded by the Plegian soldiers while waiting for Chrom and the others to come back.

"Tch… to think the Plegian army would come this far…" Frederick says.

"There are so many platoons… it looks like they were combing the whole area." Stahl says as both Ignis and Terry growls at the army.

A Plegian soldier laughs. "Well, you must be Prince Chrom's little knight lackeys! Dunno what you though you're doing at the entrance to this valley, but there's no way the two of you can win against these numbers!"

"No. There is no need for us to win." Frederick says as he draws his lance.

"Frederick?" Stahl calls.

"What?" The soldier says.

Frederick continues. "As long as we can stall you here until Lord Chrom and Gaius return, we will have accomplished or duty."

"What's that?"

"Just has Lord Chrom entrusted this to us… this time it is our turn to entrust Robin's and Reina's lives, and everything, to Lord Chrom!"

"I see. Mm. You're right." Stahl nods in agreement.

"Huh? What're you talking about?" The soldier questions.

"Stahl. You are prepared, correct? We have no choice but to overcome this situation!" Frederick tells the green cavalier.

"Yeah. I'll do all I can!" Stahl replies and draws his sword.

"Hah. Now that's a good face. Then. Let's go!"

"Yeah!"

The two then charges towards the Plegian army.

"Just the two of them against this many people… fools! We'll send you straight to Hell!" Just after the soldier says that, the Plegian army roars and charges forward.

* * *

"What do you mean, they're going to die!?" Marth shouts in disbelief and agitates by the words.

"The platoon from earlier wasn't the only one that came out here! There are a WHOLE bunch more! They've spotted your allies, and soon they'll kill them~ Ahaha! How fun!" The white-haired mage says with a smile.

Adella looks at the man with shock as Marth recompose herself. "Is there any… is there any way it can be stopped?!"

The man thought a for a bit with a hand on his chin. "Mmm, let's see. I'm a spell caster, so I can probably do something kinda cool~" He looks to them with a smile. "Uh-huh, let's see… Oh! I can bring a voice to them, I think~"

"A… a voice?"

"Yup. The voice of whoever they want to hear the most. The spell carries it over!"

"The one they want to hear the most… their voice…" Marth thought aloud.

"How about it? Shall I give it a try?"

Marth nods as Adella whines not sure if this will work or not.

* * *

As Frederick, Stahl, and their Pokémon stall the Plegian army for Chrom, Gaius, Luke, and Ace to come back, one of the Plegian soldiers hit Stahl when he hit his limit.

"Stahl!" Frederick shouts as Terry quickly goes to his partner side.

"I've been really hungry for a while now. I'm… all out… of strength…" Stahl trails off as he tries not to collapse.

"What are you saying!? Robin, Reina, Lissa, and Lord Chrom are all fighting right now! We are supposed to protect them! We must not die first!"

Terry barks at Stahl in agreement at what Frederick said.

"Frederick… Terry…"

"What, that's all you can do? Well, you did pretty well for just the two of you." A Plegian soldier mocks as the other soldiers derisively laughs.

Frederick stares at the army to Stahl who breathes heavily. "At this rate… there's no choice." He mutters and straightens up. "Stahl! Escape by yourself and Terry!"

Both Stahl and Terry look at the knight with a shock look. "There's no way we can do that!"

Another Plegian soldier laughs. "Trying to run away? It's about time for the both of you… to die!"

When the Plegian soldier about to finish them, Chrom shouts and strikes the soldier in time.

"Frederick! Stahl! Sorry for the wait!" The prince says.

"Chrom!" Stahl exclaims.

"Lord Chrom! You're unharmed!" Frederick shouts.

Gaius walks behind Chrom with Luke and Ace. "So the enemy really has come this far." He says with a smirk.

"What? Reinforcements? …no, you're…" A Plegian mage begins to laugh. "So you really were hiding here, Chrom, prince of Ylisse!"

"Urk…" Chrom frowns.

"You just come strolling out here when your minions are in trouble… you really should've just stayed in hiding."

"Don't patronize me. Do you think I would allow you to kill my comrades right before my eyes?"

"You talk big. But even eight of you don't stand a chance this many." The rest of the soldiers maliciously laugh. "Right, boys?"

"Tch. There's so many of them." Gaius grimace.

The mage laughs at the state Chrom and Gaius are in. "Take a good look. You're already covered in wounds.

Both Chrom and Gaius frown at the statement.

"So this is it, huh?" Gaius mutters.

"Lissa…" A weak voice echoes.

"Robin!" The princess' voice echoes in surprise.

"Mozu!"

Suddenly, a Plegian mercenary rushes over to the prince and the thief. "How dare you! Don't get full of yourself!" The man shouts as he and the prince clashes blades.

Caught off guard, the captain gasps in surprise and jumps back. "What was that?" He looks over to the others, but they are occupied with their fights figuring that it didn't come from them. "T-these voices…"

As Frederick pushes back a soldier and ends their live, he looks around nervously. " They sound like Lissa, Drago, and Robin's voices, but where is it coming from?"

"They're…" The green knight says in confusion. "being send into our minds?!"

The four Pokémon also heard the voices and agreeing Stahl's statement.

The enemy soldier smirks. "What's wrong with you bastards? Hearing voices? Aren't those just your final prayers?!"

"Whew." Gaius sighs in relief and whispers. "Seems like only we can hear them."

"Plegian soldiers… are approaching, aren't they?" Robin asks.

"Um… well…" Lissa hesitates.

"No, those footsteps belong to the villagers coming to visit. It's fine, Robin. We'll go talk to them." Virion calmly says.

They could hear Robin's painful giggle. "Virion… you're quite skilled at lying… But thank you. I know. You've done enough."

"Robin…" The Ylissean archer says quietly.

"Robin, what are you…" Meena says.

"Lissa… Meena… Virion… leave me… and take Drago… the Shepherds… and Reina."

"Mozu!" The Monozu exclaims in shock.

"Huh?" Lissa's voice echoes in shock.

"What are you saying?" Virion asks.

Chrom frowns from hearing the worlds of the group. "These voices… are they real?"

The group remains in silent as they continue fending off the enemy soldiers.

"It's the group we left behind in the village." Frederick says in conclusion. "Some power must be bringing them to us across the intervening distance."

The voice continues as Robin's voice echoes through their minds. "The enemy is approaching. You can't bring me along. I'll only be a burden, but Reina shouldn't be a problem and she needs immediate care with better supplies."

Lissa gasps in shock. "No!"

"Are those your orders as tactician?" Virion asks.

Robin laughs weakly. "It's nothing that grand. I just… don't want to… cause you all any more sorrow."

"S-sorrow?" The Ylissean princess' voice echoes in confusion.

Robin continues weakly in a heavy tone. "Lady Emmeryn has died. If I died as well… You are all too kind. You will be overcome with sorrow…"

"Robin…" Lissa voice echoes with concern.

"I don't want to burden… Chrom and the others with any more sadness. So… so… please pretend that I… a person without memories… who doesn't even know her past… never existed to begin with." The tactician says as she breathes harder. "Please… forget about me."

"Don't say that, Robin!" Lissa shouts with sadness in her voice.

"Lissa…" Robin calls. "This is where we part ways. Please tell Chrom… I escaped alone… and concealed my whereabouts. 'She fled from battle. She gave into fear and departed the battlefield.' Like that. And then… everyone will immediately forget about me. I think… I think that's for the best…"

"No!" Lissa screams. "I don't want to!"

"Mozu!" Drago agrees.

Virion's voice comes in through the sound of Lissa's sobbing. "Robin… you…"

"I'm a hindrance…" Robin says. "So-"

Suddenly, Drago jumps on Robin's bed and bashes his head against Robin's.

"D-Drago?" Robin calls in a shock tone.

"Mozu! Zu mozu zumo!" Drago shouts at her.

"What Drago is telling you is that you're not thinking straight and that you're not like that at all." Meena says. "And I agree. There's no way Chrom would even believe in those words."

"I-I'm staying right here!" Lissa shouts in determination. "We'll protect you until the end, Robin!"

Maribelle's voice comes in. "And if Lissa is staying here, so am I. Our job as healers is to treat every patient we have. I will not neither leaver her nor my role."

"Lissa… you guys… haha... T-that is a problem…"

"Robin…" Chrom mutters.

"Robin…" Frederick follows.

"Robin…" Stahl also follows.

"She…" Gaius says.

"But… I really… am sorry." Robin sobs. "Lissa… you guys… I… really am hopeless… but even so… I don't want everyone to forget about me!"

"Robin!" Lissa's voice echoes through their head as she sobs.

"Robin… what a resolve you show! I have been enraptured by your character. The title of an aristocrat too is not just for show. No matter what may befall me, no matter how wretched I may become, I will protect you from the Plegian soldiers outside!" Virion declares.

The group outside are still fighting against the enemy.

"Robin harbors such feelings… and our precious friends harbor such resolve. I… I am ashamed… of my own lack of strength! I must become stronger… and stronger! SO that I can protect everyone!"

"I… feel the same." Frederick agrees.

"Me too." Stahl says.

"Hey, you guys! That's all well and good, but Robin's just going to laugh at us if we don't find a way out of this mess." Gaius shouts as he finally brings down another soldier.

"You're right. Somehow, just hearing Robin's voice filled me with strength. There's no way I'm giving up now!" Stahl exclaims.

Gaius laughs at the knight's comment. "Geez, you're easily swayed. And you were just acting like you were about to die, too."

Stahl laughs nervously as Chrom smiles. "Easily swayed? Hm. It seems the same holds true for me."

"I… feel the same. Heh." Frederick says.

The enemy soldiers grimace in shock upon seeing the unusual optimistic look upon the Shepherds' faces.

"All right! Everyone! Lend me your strength! We will be victorious no matter what!" Chrom shouts as Luke sets his blades.

"Aye, of course! We must not die here!" Frederick exclaims.

"Let's end this already and go back to Robin!" Gaius shouts with Ace smirking.

"Yeah!" Stahl shouts. "And we'll all return to Ylisse together!"

Both Terry and Ignis howls in agreement.

"Let's go!" The prince shouts with enthusiasm.

With the signal, they all charge at the large enemy platoon shocking them in disbelief.

"Let's see what I've learn from Robin!" Chrom says as he looks around the battlefield. "Stahl, Frederick, take out the archers with your javelin!"

"Understood!" Frederick shouts. "Let's go, Stahl!"

"Yeah! Let's go! One, and!" Stahl shouts.

The two begin taking out the Plegian archers with javelins.

"Gaius! Charge straight into the enemy's ranks!" Chrom shouts.

"Yeah, got it!" The thief calls out with a smile as he looks at his partner. "Let's go, Ace!"

"Manyu!" Ace replies.

The Plegian smirks upon seeing two charging at them till Gaius and the Manyula suddenly disappears from their aim.

"You're way too slow to hit me! How's this?" Gaius shouts as he strikes a Plegian soldier as Ace uses Slash on another soldier.

Much to the enemies' frustration, they struggle to hit the man and Pokémon.

"Causing a commotion is his job, after all." Chrom says and charges in with Luke and take out the confused Plegian soldiers.

With the prince's strategy, they are able to continue forth as the storm ended. With the sunrise, they return to the village in one piece.

"We've finally returned." Frederick says as he rushes into the house. "How are they?"

To their surprise, the group and the soldiers are gone.

"Reina! Meena! Robin! Lissa! Virion!" Stahl shouts panicking.

"Soldiers' footprints…" The two immediately turn to see Gaius who frowns as he bends down examining the ground. "Were they attacked by Plegians, after all?!"

"It can't be?!" Frederick says in disbelief. "The Shepherds and the khans were here too! They can't have been defeated so easily!"

"Ugh… Damn!" Chrom shouts in anger. "Again… I failed to protect the people I care about!"

"Oh, you're back."

They turn around in surprise to see an old woman causing Stahl to gasp in shock. "You're!"

The woman smiles. "Your friends are resting at my house. Come with me."

"What?" Chrom says when they hear footsteps running up to them.

"Chrom!" Lissa's voice shouts as the group looks to see that both her and Virion go up to them with Lissa rushing towards the group.

"Lissa!" The prince shouts in shock.

"So you've returned." Virion says.

"And Virion!" Frederick shouts in shock. "You're unharmed?"

"Naturally. A true aristocrat would not allow himself to die shamefully in a place like this."

"You two…" Stahl lets out a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you're all right!"

Gaius turns to the woman with a look of confusion. "But, you… why?"

"We'll speak at length later." Virion cuts short. "You brought the herb, correct? Hurry and give it to Robin. Especially Reina. Time is of the essence."

They nod and hurriedly follow the old lady. After a couple of hours, the medicine is made and gives the two. During that time, Virion explains what had occurred to them. The village knew despite the disguise that they were Ylisseans and wanted to tell them to those who hate Ylisse but discovers the flowers that Lissa and Virion placed on the graves. Seeing that, they reconsidered their decisions and told their whereabouts to Plegians, who empathized with the late Exalt's words, much to Chrom's surprise. Robin is finally breathing steadily as the medicine kicks in.

Frederick lets out a sigh of relief. "It seems the worst is over."

"Not yet, I'm afraid." Chrom says with grimace as he turns to his younger sister. "Just how bad is Reina's condition?"

Lissa frowns as she takes them to the room next to the tactician as she opens the door. "Her fever have gotten worse. Her temperature still hasn't dropped…"

As Chrom walks into the room, he sees Reina lying on the bed in the corner of the room with her sister and Éclair watching over her with anxious looks as the trainer is still breathing heavily. Maribelle sits at a desk opposite of the bed as she ponders on Reina's condition.

"Maribelle… have there been… a single improvement?" Lissa asks as she walks up to her.

Maribelle looks to the princess with surprise before she sighs. "No… Her temperature finally stopped rising, but it's not falling either. At this rate…"

Dead silence hangs in the air when they see Meena standing up.

"Meena?" Lissa calls as the said girl opens her bag and begins to search something in there before pulling out colorful berries and shortly, she pulls out a Poké ball from her pocket.

"What are you doing, Meena?" Maribelle asks and Meena turns to them.

"I told you before, there is this Pokémon that saved her before. And now, we need it now!" She exclaims as she throws the Poké ball in the air and it snaps open, revealing a very cute Pokémon.

Pokémon seems to be a femininely anthropomorphic figure with musical bar-style streaks in its hair, quarter notes for its arms and hands and pupil-less eyes resembling whole notes. It has a jewel on its forehead and a black headpiece that seems to be shaped like a treble clef. It has light blue eyes and flowing, wavy hair with light-blue ovals that resemble whole notes.

"Meloetta!" The Pokémon shouts.

The Shepherds look at the Pokémon with surprise that this one healed Reina's fever before.

"Pikachu!" Éclair calls and the Pokémon smiles at the sight of the Mouse Pokémon when Meloetta spots Reina in the bed unwell and floats closer to her.

"That Pokémon…" Chrom trails off.

"Saved Reina before?" Lissa finishes.

"Meloetta!" Meena calls ignoring the question and getting the small Pokémon's attention. "As you can see, Reina has fallen sick and at this rate her life will slip away. Please, Meloetta! Sing 'that' song again like last time. Look." She shows the colorful berries to the Pokémon. "I already brought these with me in case if something like this happened again."

Meloetta nods her head and puts her hands together with her eyes close. Then the berries in Meena's hands floats upwards and circles around the Pokémon.

[Insert Meloetta's Song of Love]

(Here's the clip: /watch?v=nCfyG5sQeM0)

When hearing Meloetta's voice, some of the Shepherds close their eyes from listening it.

"What a lovely voice." Lissa says with her eyes closed along with Chi.

"Tabune." The Hearing Pokémon agrees.

Towards the ending of the song, the berries around Meloetta begins to glow and explodes into light particles as they rain on Reina causing her body to glow also. Once all the particles bathe Reina, her breathing becomes steady once more and the red blush on her face begins to fade away. Seeing this sudden development, Lissa, Maribelle, Chi, and Maribelle's partner Flora, Cuwawa, rush over to the trainer's side.

"How's Reina's condition now?!" Chrom asks as the group looks over at the two healers with their Pokémon.

"It's amazing!" Lissa exclaims in surprise as she cries with joy. "Her fever is down and her throat isn't as red as before. Like this, she's going to get better soon!"

Maribelle nods with a relieve smile. "Yes. With her condition it is right now, she'll certainly make a full recovery in about a couple of days.

The group sighs in relief hearing the good news as Meloetta flies next to Meena as she looks at the Pokémon.

"Good work, Meloetta." Meena says.

"Metta." Meloetta replies.

"Meena," Chrom approaches to her. "That Pokémon…"

Meena puts her hand at the Pokémon. "This is Meloetta, the Melody Pokémon. This is the Pokémon that I told you about earlier."

"Is that so." He replies and looks at Meloetta. "I am Chrom, Reina has been teaching us about the Pokémon battles and helping us for our cause. I want to thank you for saving Reina."

"Loetta." Meloetta replies.

Just then, they hear something rustling and turns to see that it was coming from Reina sitting up yawning before groggily opens her eyes. "Morning…"

When she fully opens her eyes, she looks around only to be greeted by Lissa smiling with tears in her eyes with Éclair.

"Reina!"

"Pika!"

The two jumps and tightly hug the confused trainer with tears coming out of Lissa's eyes.

"Hey! Lissa, Éclair! You're squeezing me!" Reina tells her.

Lissa releases her grip on Reina and rubbing her eyes with her finger. "Sorry. It just that we almost lost you earlier if it weren't for Meena."

Reina looks to the side to see her little sister and Meloetta out of the Poké ball.

"Meloetta?" She calls and the Pokémon flies to her. "It's been awhile!"

"Metta!" Meloetta replies.

"Is Meena treating you well?"

"Melo."

"Did you heal me again?"

"Loetta."

"Looks like they're having fun talking to each other." Lissa points out.

"Looks like it." Chrom replies with Luke nodding his head in agreement.

* * *

"Oh? Are you more of their companions? The children are in that big house. They're all covered in wounds, but it seems they'll be fine. The sick kids also seem to narrowly escaped death, especially that girl." The elderly woman says to the travelers outside of the house before leaving them.

Marth lets out a sigh of relief and smiles. "I see. That's good."

"Arf!" Adella barks happily.

The mage looks at the building with interest. "Oohhh… wow. In the end, everyone survived, huh?"

"It appears that I must thank you again." The swordswoman says.

He looks at the two with a look of confusion. "Huuuh? Why?"

"It seems you've guided them to a fate where they kept their lives." Marth explains.

"Ohhh, is that right. Well, if the fighting's over, I guess I'm don here~! I'm thinking of going off somewhere else where people kill each other. What will you do?"

"Until the time comes, I will conceal myself for some time with Adella." Marth says with a stern look and the mage looks over to the swordswoman with a suspicious look. "We may meet again somewhere… Plegian spellcaster whose name I don't know."

Then the happy expression returns to the mage's face. "Yup. It's been great if next time we met in an interesting battle again!" He turns around and begins to walk away. "See ya!"

With the mage gone, Marth lost in her thought with a smile. "The storm… has passed. Father…" She turns around and begins to walk into the woods with Adella behind her. "May we meet again soon."

* * *

A/N: I'M REEEEEEALLY SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! I was typing these three chapters and I have school to go to so I didn't have time to finish them earlier. Now I know all of you have noticed, I'll be updating this and my other stories at a much later date than usual, I hope this won't stop you for waiting the future chapters.  
As always, I'll be waiting for your review about these three chapters.


	19. The Day the Mad King Ends

A few days have passed after Robin and Reina have recovered from the endemic disease especially Reina. The Shepherds march back to the capitol as the streets are still bustling, but the people are not as lively as before since they heard the news of Exalt Emmeryn has died. As Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick returned to the castle, the others go back to the barracks. Since their return, the Shepherds have recruited a new member and it was the dancer who had helped them escape from Plegia, Olivia. It was later that they found out about Luke was able to talk to the Shepherds through telepathy, shocking them when Reina tells them that it's normal when Ellrade like Luke have a complete trust to their Trainer.

Now, as Ylisse prepares for the last battle against Mad King Gangrel, they have restocked their supplies and train harder than they usually did as Robin formulate a new strategy against their next attack. It wasn't long before they are ready to depart once more into the Plegian territory. After a few days of traveling, scouting, and preparations for the attack, they are on the outskirts of where the battle would take place.

"Hey, Chrom, Luke," Reina calls getting the two, Robin, Drago's attention. "I know that you, Gaius, Luke, and Ace went to get the herb at the ravine, but how did you get it?"

"Oh, it was Luke who got herb since the path was wet and about to crumble," Chrom replies.

"But if the path was like that then how?"

 **"Chrom told me to move where the path will stay up."** Luke answers

Reina slightly widens her eyes and smiles. "Chrom, did you remember what I told you about that there is one thing you need to know about Mega Evolution?"

"I think… it was 'one heart, two views'… In the end, I didn't know what you mean by that."

"When you battled me at Ylisstol, what were you thinking?"

"Well… defeating you but in the end, you defeated me and Luke." Chrom admits as he looks at his partner.

"What about you, Luke?"

 **"I was thinking the same thing,"** Luke replies.

"You and Luke act very like each other and think the same way, but deep in your heart you two still don't trust each other. That's why Luke collapsed after everting from his Mega Evolved form." Reina explains. "Trainer and Pokémon are friends. Partners aiming for the same goal. However, their respective roles are different. Even if exposed to the same view, what they _see_ is different. That's one heart, two views. Tie the two views together and turn them into strength."

"Reina…" Chrom says and remembers what Reina told her earlier.

 _"If you start to doubt yourself, you can't master it. It's the same thing when battling. If you can't believe in yourself or your Pokémon, you can't win. Only when you and your Pokémon believe in each other, you can win."_

"But with you two right now, I'm sure the two of you can do it."

Chrom looks at her for the moment and nods when Frederick comes in running. "Milord, I have a report from Khan Flavia. The Plegian army is in disarray."

"How do you mean?" Chrom asks.

"It seems many of their soldiers are opposed to further violence. There has been infighting, desertion… Gangrel is trying to stamp out the mutiny by force, but with little success. Outside of a few faithful who has served him directly, his army has all but collapsed."

"Looks like your sister did it," Reina tells the prince. "Her words reached them."

"Emmeryn…" Chrom breathes.

"Yes, Milord. Emmeryn." Frederick confirms. "The report says Gangrel's men chant her name as they abandoned the field. Her words and her sacrifice have made her a folk hero of sorts."

"Emmeryn… Why did it take me so long to understand? She believed all people desire peace. She knew, deep down, the Plegians wanted it, too. It just took her to bring it to the surface."

Robin smiles as she hears the result of the exalt's last words.

"I hope she can see this, wherever she is… Today we put an end to Mad King Gangrel and bring peace back to the land."

They nod as the prince signals for the Shepherds to begin marching and reached to the Border Waste, where the final battle will be held. There, they see Gangrel standing in front of a fort, with some Plegian soldiers standing in their path.

"Good day, my little princeling!" The Mad King greets mockingly. "Still dreaming of your squashed sister?"

"No more talk, Gangrel. Today you die, and peace returns to Ylisse and Plegia." Chrom says.

Gangrel scoffs at his words. "Pah! Such hypocrisy! You despise me, wretch! You want to cut me down! You don't know the first thing about peace. No man does!"

"I know more than you ever will."

"More than me? More than ME?! Bwa ha! …You ARE me!" Gangrel claims. "When like asks you a question, you answer with blood!"

"Maybe your right… I will never be my sister. I cannot forgive men like you – men who saw nothing but evil. All I have left of her are her words and her memory. Were I alone, I might be driven to madness. …Or worse." Luke looks at his partner at those words who looks back at him as he continues to speak. "But I'm not alone. My friends and brothers-in-arms stand behind me."

"…Are you done? May I vomit now? Bwa ha ha! What a flowery harangue! Men are beasts! Nothing more! We fight! We kill! We devour our prey! Beasts do not stand behind beasts, little prince… They use each other only so long as it suits their own selfish purpose!"

"You're wrong!" Reina speaks. "We are human and Pokémon. We do more than fight and kill, we also protect those close to us! At the very least have a heart. Something that you'll never understand!"

"Which would also explain why your own soldiers refuse to stand behind you," Chrom adds. "You are a poison. A festering wound. And I will do what my sister could not."

"Such a clever tongue you have there… It will look quite fetching handing my mantle, next to your sister's corpse!"

The Shepherds all glare at him for those words.

"Milord, I have come!" Olivia's voice comes as she catches up with them. "Am I too late? I don't claim my dance as anything special, but Khan Basilio says it renews the spirit!"

"You came just in time, Olivia," Chrom tells her. "And besides that, anything can do in our situation."

Reina takes out the rest of her Poké ball and opens them getting the rest of her Pokémon to enter the battle as well. "These guys with help with the others."

Chrom nods and faces back to the battlefield before the prince begins to order. "For peace! For Emmeryn! And for Ylisse!"

All the Shepherds and the Feroxi warriors shout in agreement and run into the battle. In response, the Plegians charge at them, weapons raised to attack.

"YES ― draw closer! Let them charge at me with their RAGE! More of my soldiers shall greet them at every foolish step." Gangrel says in an amused tone, retreating to the fort.

"Everyone, remember the plan!" Robin calls out.

Most of the Shepherds nod and take care of the enemy, while Chrom, Robin, Reina and their Pokémon go-ahead to Gangrel. Some of the Plegian soldiers try to get a jump on the prince, tactician, and the trainer, only to knock away by their Pokémon or their fellow Shepherd.

"You're not taking a step closer to them!" Basilio shouts, cutting down a pair of mages.

"Keep running, Chrom!" Flavia also shouts, taking down some fighters.

"Kuroh!" Reina calls out as the Disaster Pokémon follows them.

"Any ideas on defeating Gangrel, Robin?" Reina asks.

"Just Chrom and Luke undergoing Mega Evolution. And if that swordsman Reina knew is with him, make him remember with Éclair and Kuro," she answers. "Drago and I will provide back-up."

"Sounds like a good plan," Chrom says and Reina nods in agreement to the idea.

The three humans and their Pokémon arrive at the fortress and enters with caution.

"Knowing that Mad King as a coward, he probably set up some traps," Reina says.

"You're right. But how will know their location?" Chrom asks.

"That's easy." Reina then looks at Kuroh. "Kuroh, use Psycho Cut." Her Absol sends a purple crescent-like blade from its horn down the path as they hear something cutting through. "We just cut through our way."

"And you literally just did that." Robin points out as she and Drago have a sweatdrop coming down.

"However, this is more efficient," Chrom says and looks at them. "Let's go."

With a nod, the group continues down the hall until they reach a large set of doors.

"This has to be the throne room," Chrom says.

 **"You're right."** Luke agrees with the prince's guess.

"How fitting for a Mad King to want to comfortably watch the war rather than take part in it." Reina states.

"Well, we're here now. Is everyone ready?" Robin asks and they nod in confirmation and knocks the doors open.

"Gangrel!" Chrom yells.

As they expected, the Plegian king is sitting comfortably on his throne. "Princeling. You're actually here. And I thought those traps would've already taken care of you."

"Gangrel! Where is that man?!" Reina questions.

"Ah, you mean this one?" Gangrel snaps his fingers and the swordsman appears behind the throne. "I was surprised when Aversa showed me this man as he tried to escape here. But Aversa puts a spell on him that will only move when I order him to."

"There's no way…" Reina trails off in disbelief.

"You bastard! Not only you stole Emmeryn, but that man too…!" Chrom shouts.

"If you want to get me, then you have to pass through some of my men." With those words, Gangrel's men appear from the shadows, surrounding the small group of Shepherds. "Kill them!" He orders. At his command, his soldiers all charge at the group of seven.

* * *

With the rest of the Shepherds outside the fortress, they are having trouble against Gangrel's men.

"I thought you said Gangrel had a 'few faithful' left!" Sully shouts at Frederick.

"I only reported what I heard from Khan Flavia!" The Great Knight says in his defense.

"There didn't seem that many before!" The East khan defends. "These guys keep coming out of nowhere like cockroaches!"

"Either way, there's too many of them!" Lon'qu exclaims.

Olivia is busy trying to defend herself to reenergize the Shepherds. One brigand disarms the girl and goes straight for the kill.

 _"This is… the end?"_ She thought. _"No. I don't want to die yet!"_

"Bursya!" The axe breaks by a swift Blaze Kick from Flamma. The Bursyamo then kicks the brigand throwing him to the other brigands behind him knocking them like bowling pins. The Blaze Pokémon then looks at Olivia. "Bursya?"

Olivia is a bit frighten by Flamma's appearance until she has to remind herself that Pokémon are friends of Shepherds and that one of the Pokémon knocks the man who almost killed her.

"T-Thank you." She says.

Nodding to her thanks, Flamma rushes off to fight other Plegian soldiers.

Where Donnel, Nowi, and Gregor are, the three Shepherds are back to back with their Pokémon by their side except Gregor, surrounded by wyvern riders.

"There ain't an end to them!" Donnel cries out.

"But we have to keep up, lad!" Gregor tells him.

"That's right! We can't let things end here!" Nowi adds.

"His majesty is definitely going to love a cape made of manakete's skin." One of the wyverns says causing the rest to laugh in agreement. Nowi tense at his claim and looks down at her Dragonstone.

 _"I can only change a few more times…"_ She shouts.

Jang senses her sadness and unleashes Screech on the surrounding enemies. To their surprise, they scream out as they cover their ears and their wyverns go into a frenzy.

"What is this?!"

Once Jang stops, both the rider and their wyvern go down still daze from the Scaly Pokémon's moves.

"Now's our chance!" Donnel says charging to kill on with Quin by his side. Before the targeted rider could react, the Pokabu rams into his stomach with Flame Charge as his trainer follows it up with the finishing blow to the head, killing the Plegian.

Now snapping from their daze and their wyvern are useless, the rest of the risers jump off with their weapon in hand.

Jang quickly uses Dragon Tail whipping the three men into the air and Nowi, in her Dragon Form, follows up with a dragon breath at them. However, a mercenary sneaks up on the manakete from behind and strikes her hart with his sword, inflicting heavy damage on Nowi as she screams in pain and drops her Dragonstone, reverting back to her human form.

"Wh-what…?" She breathes holding her wound.

"Nowi!" Gregor cries out witnessing what had happened and brings his and Nowi's Pokémon to the manakete girl.

"Well, what do you know? Manakete is weak against Wyvernslayers." The mercenary says.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Donnel charges in to stop him.

"Wait, lad!" Gregor shouts, but Donnel suddenly pins down by another mercenary. Both Quin and Jang are about to rush to their partners' side but suddenly holds up by a pair of fighters.

"Looks like tonight is pork." The one holding Quin says.

"I'd rather sell these to our king." The one holding Jang says.

Seeing the two Pokémon being held up, Gregor points his sword at them. "Let them go!" He then charges at the two when an assassin appears on his back, putting Gregor in submission.

Seeing their trainers and Gregor are down, the two Pokémon worries for their trainers as they struggle out of their captors' hold and watch in fear as the Plegians raise their weapons for the killing blow. Turning that fear into anger, both Pokémon struggles harder for their freedom to help their trainers. As the Plegians brings down their weapons, they both let out a loud screech and then suddenly happened.

Quin and Jang suddenly glow blue, bring everyone's attention to them, including their trainers' would-be-killers. They watch as the small Pokémon starts to grow much bigger than they were before.

The glow dies down and Jang now has more yellow scales on its arm and the large scale on its head turns oval with a light yellow, heart-shaped stripe across the middle while Quin is now bulky and seems to be wearing clothes fit for a wrestler. Both of them are standing on two legs rather than all four.

Soon, Quin turns and gives a powerful thrust of his arm at his captor's arm, forcing him to release the Fire-Type in pain as the Pokémon delivers more arm thrusts and tosses the Plegian over to his ally, knocking him off Donnel. While Jang delivers an uppercut on his captor's chin, also sending him to the mercenary who is holding Wyvernslayers.

"Jang…?" Nowi calls.

"Is that you, Quin?" Donnel asks.

The two Pokémon look back and nod at their trainers respectively as Maribelle rushes in on her horse with Lissa and their Pokémon and the humans heal Nowi, Donnel and Gregor as best as they can.

"Are you guys okay?" Lissa asks.

"Yeah, I am. But…" Nowi trails off when Jang pokes her getting the manakete's attention and shows her Dragonstone in his claw. "My Dragonstone!" She exclaims and receives it. "Thank you, Jang."

"Rango." Jang nods and hears more Plegian soldiers coming towards them.

"There more coming!" Gregor points out.

"Yeah, but now our partners are stronger than before!" Donnel declares and they begin to fight again.

* * *

With Chrom's group, they are doing their best to take down Gangrel's men, but no matter how much they beat them, more keep coming. Reina and Chrom already had Kuro and Luke go into their Mega, much to Gangrel's shock and awe, and they improve their chances of winning.

"Drago, Dragon Breath!" Robin orders.

"Leaf Blade!" Chrom adds.

"Kuro, use Night Slash!" Reina also orders.

The three Pokémon oblige and release their moves at Plegian soldiers. The Plegians all scream in pain as they are struck by the attacks and collapses on the ground.

To his shock at the sudden development for Gangrel as he becomes displeased with the turnaround. "WHAT?! How?!"

"This is what you get for underestimating our bond, Gangrel!" Chrom exclaims.

"You have forgotten that I have this man here for you to fight." Gangrel snaps his fingers and the swordsman charges forward at Chrom when Éclair sends a Thunderbolt in between them making the masked swordsman stop his track. "What?!"

"Chrom!" They look to the side where they see Éclair and Kuro standing in front of Reina who has her bow ready. "As planned, I'll deal with him while you and Robin deal with Gangrel!"

"Alright!" The prince replies and rushes past the swordsman with Robin, Drago, and Luke towards the mad king.

Before the masked man follows them, Reina and her two Pokémon quickly get in the way.

"Your opponent is me!" Reina declares as Éclair and Kuro get ready to battle once more while the prince, the tactician, and their Pokémon reach Gangrel.

"Now Gangrel! Let's see what you can do without your soldiers to hide behind!" Chrom shouts.

The frown on the mad king's face changes into a smirk. "You underestimate me greatly, princeling. Clinging to each other won't save you maggots when the boots fall! Now come, princeling! I've sharpened my sword just for you!" As he said the last two sentences, Gangrel draws out a jagged-looking sword.

"My sister wished for our people to know peace, Gangrel. But as long as you draw breath, it can never come. For Ylisse!"

* * *

Back outside, the Shepherds manage to beat the rest of Gangrel's men.

"Is that all of them?" Stahl asks.

"Looks like it. And we got some goods too." Anna says with Lucy nodding in agreement.

Sumia look around noticing a few people are still missing. "Where are Chrom, Robin, and Reina?"

"They must be still inside," Sully says.

"We should go help them out!" Ricken exclaims and the group all nods in agreement.

"Wait," Meena calls stopping the group from going further. "We should wait for them."

"What are you saying, Meena?" Sumia asks.

"Right now it's their fight alone. We shouldn't interfere."

The group look at each other before looking at the castle decided to wait for the three.

* * *

Back with the three, Chrom, Robin, and their partners find themselves a hard time against Gangrel as Reina tries to distract the swordsman. Since Gangrel is quite agile, making it difficult to hit him and Reina hesitates to shoot an arrow directly at the masked swordsman.

"Come one now, I thought you wanted to kill me, princeling~" Gangrel mocks Chrom.

"Damn it," Chrom speaks under his breath.

As Reina is ready to fire an arrow at the swordsman, the hand that is holding the bow trembles as she looks at him with a saddened look.

"I knew it… I…" Reina mutters. "I really can't shoot you!"

The swordsman then charges towards her, causing Reina to hitch a breath and when he gets closer to her, Éclair uses Iron Tail to deflect the swing from her trainer and lands in front of her.

"Thanks, Éclair," Reina says.

"Pika," Éclair replies.

Reina then notices Kuro is rubbing his head against her and remembers something.

 _"That's right. I'm not the only one who is going through this."_ Reina thought and looks up at the swordsman.

"Éclair, Kuro. I'm counting on you to help me snapping him out!" She exclaims.

The two Pokémon lets out their own cry acknowledging her request.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Robin is thrown to the ground as her Thunder Tome breaks when she was blocking Gangrel's attack.

"Robin!" Chrom calls out as Drago quickly goes to her.

As she gets up staggering, Drago reaches her with a worried expression.

"I'm fine, Drago. But…" Robin trails off and looks at the broken tome.

"What are you going to do now since your Tome is broken?" Gangrel mockingly questions her as Robin glares at the mad king. Drago looks at his trainer before glaring at the Plegian as he growls. "Oh, what will a baby dragon do against me?"

Before long, Drago roars out and glows blue, shocking everyone in the room. They watch as the Pokémon starts to grow much bigger as his head splits into two with the tuft on his head also split into two. The glow dies down as they see Drago has his front legs all muscular with two claws on each foot, but his rear legs are less defined and have two small, backward-pointing toes without claws. It has two thin wings on its back, each ending in two points and the fur stops at the chest and opens up to fuchsia striped bands on the side of its legs.

"Drago has evolved…!" Reina says in shock.

"Drago…" Robin calls with her eyes widened.

"What is this sorcery?!" Gangrel shouts.

Then Drago's wings glow white and hit Gangrel with them causing him to stagger back.

Robin quickly snaps out and looks at Chrom before shouting, "Now, Chrom!"

Chrom also snaps out from her voice and nods. "Let's go, Luke!"

 **"Okay!"** Luke replies and both charge towards Gangrel.

Before Gangrel could do anything, Luke slashes his side and Chrom sinks his sword into the mad king's gut.

"It's over Gangrel. With this, both our people will have peace." Chrom tells him.

"F-Fool of… a prince…" Gangrel wheezes. "Your people care not for you… You are… alone… As everyone lives and dies… alone…"

Then Gangrel's body limps against Chrom and he pulls his sword out letting the mad king's body hit the floor.

Just then both Luke and Kuro evert to their normal form and Robin approaches him. "We did it." She says.

"Yeah. The war… is now over…" Chrom agrees.

Suddenly, they hear someone roaring out in pain and the two look to see the swordsman is holding his head as he staggers backward towards an opened window.

"What's happening him?!" Chrom asks.

"I don't know! He suddenly shouts out in pain!" Reina replies.

"Could it be that now Gangrel is dead, Aversa might have set something off if something happened to him." Robin theorizes.

"What?!" Chrom exclaims.

Just as the swordsman hits the rim of the window, he begins to fall off, alarming the group and Reina immediately drops her bow and rushes to him before jumping out the window and grabs the swordsman's hand and the other catches the rim of the window.

"Reina!" Chrom and Robin call out.

"Pika!" Éclair also calls out.

"I'm all right!" Reina shouts out in reply and looks down at the swordsman. "Please, open your eyes!" She tells him and the swordsman looks up at her. "You have to remember! The time we spend together at Hiwamaki City!"

"Hiwamaki… City…?" He repeats.

"That's right! The times when you helped out at our clinic, the times we played together, and the times when Nagi-san taught us how to battle. Did you really forget all those things…?" She asks as tears begin to well up in her eyes. "Did you really forgot the time we spend together, Kai!"

Under the mask, Kai widens his eyes at the name and then Reina's fingers slip off the window's rim, causing both of them to fall. Reina screams out and Kai then hugs her as he gets out a Poké Ball with a sun sticker on it.

"Come out!" He shouts opening the Poké ball and letting out a blob of light, revealing a large, white Pokémon resembling a white lion.

It has a blunt muzzle with a blue-gray nose and pale blue eyes. The top half of its face is a deep blue area that shows a constantly changing starscape. Four yellow spikes frame the lion's head like a crown and two more pairs of spikes adorn either side of its lower jaw, and each spike separates large tufts of the lion's mane. Solid ridges—red nearest the lion's head and yellow farther away—poke out of each tuft along the middle, except on the tufts on its cheeks and chin, with the topmost part wrapping around the tip of the tuft. Overall, its mane creates the impression of a stylized sun. Around each leg is a dark orange band, and there is a black spot on each foot. It has three black toes on each foot with long yellow claws. At the tip of its tail is a large black spot with a thin yellow rim.

The lion roars out and runs in the air below where the two might crash before landing and they land on its back.

"Phew. That was a close one." Kai says just as Reina quickly looks at him with widened eyes. "Are you all right, Reina?"

"Kai…?" Reina calls.

Kai smiles at her and takes off the mask revealing clear blues eyes staring at her. "That's right, Reina."

"Kai…" Reina calls in relief but soon turns into anger. "What in the world were you doing the past year?!" She shouts.

This cause Kai to jerk back with a guilty look. "Th-That's…"

"You made both me and Meena worried! Not sending a letter after a year, aren't you ashamed of yourself?!"

Kai looks at Reina's angered eyes and hangs his head. "I'm sorry."

"Reina!" The said girl turns and sees Chrom and Robin exiting the fort and coming towards them with their partners and Reina's Pokémon behind them.

"Chrom! Robin!" Reina calls and she slides off from the lion's back as they stop in front of her.

"Are you all right?" Chrom asks.

"Yeah." She replies as Éclair jumps to her.

"Pika!" Éclair calls out and Reina catches her before

"Éclair!"

Then the Mouse Pokémon moves to her favorite spot on Reina. "Pikachu! Pika pika! Cha~" The Pikachu nuzzles against Reina's cheek while Kuro catches up to them.

Just then, a Ylissean soldier approaches Chrom. "Sire, the remaining Plegian forces are surrendering en masse!"

"Good. Order our forces to cease fighting at once." Chrom orders.

"Yes, sire!"

With that order, the soldier quickly goes back to the battlefield to let the other Shepherds stop fighting.

* * *

~Later~

Now the war is over, both sides are resting as the clerics are doing their job healing the injured soldiers while Flavia and Basilio are having a conversation with Chrom and Robin as Reina and Kai went back to the Shepherds with their Pokémon following them and where Meena also scolds him.

"Then it's finished. Once their messenger delivers our terms, that's it." Flavia says. "We put an end to this bloody business, once and for all."

"We've won… Somehow I don't feel like celebrating." Chrom states.

"Victory can be bitter as well as sweet, boy. It's good you learned that now." Basilio says.

"Regna Ferox lost many good soldiers today. We need to see to our dead. Then it's time to attend to the living and rebuild our army." Flavia states.

"Ylisse will compensate your nation in whatever fashion-"

"Oh? In that case, how about you hand over the Fire Emblem and we'll call it even?" Flavia cuts him off and sees the stares that she is having from the prince and the tactician. "…Hah! Just a little Feroxi humor. Don't worry about our finances, Chrom. Reparations will fall to Plegia, and I've seen their treasury―they can well afford it."

"Yes, pity the man who stands between Flavia and a full coffer, boy." Basilio grimaces.

"Heh, I'll have to remember that when you come to visit Ylisstol," Chrom says.

After that, Flavia and Basilio go back to the camp where the Shepherds and the army are, leaving Chrom and Robin alone.

"Robin…" Chrom calls.

"What's wrong, Chrom? You look serious." She asks.

"I… I think I owe you an apology, Robin," Chrom says. "This wasn't your war to fight."

Robin smiles at his apology. "But I chose to fight it."

"All I've been thinking about is stopping Gangrel, no matter the cost. Even my own life would not have been too high a price to pay."

To say, she is shocked at how little he thought of his own life would have been an understatement. "It would have been for us! …And for me."

As they speak, Luke and Drago are both nearby, hiding behind some debris.

"I've been thinking a lot lately, about everything." Chrom continues. "And about you, Robin. In many ways, you're the best fighter I've ever known… and the best friend. You are a special woman, and I… I wonder if you think of me as more than your leader?"

"I think of you as a great man, and… dear to my heart." Robin answers.

"I never want to let you go, Robin. Does that make me selfish?"

"If so, then let be selfish, too. I would be with you, always."

Both are silent, unsure of what to say to each other.

"Robin?" Chrom speaks first.

"Yes, Chrom?" The tactician responds.

"We met under unusual circumstances, but lives have been made from far less. My sister always followed her heart, so now I'm going to follow mine… What I want to ask you… Well, what I mean is… Will you marry me?" Chrom blushes as he asks that one question.

Robin also blushes in return as she gives her answer, "…Yes."

Chrom felt time stop at that one-word reply and smiles. "Ha ha! With a word, you've made me the happiest man in the realm! Now I'll need to ask for a bit of patience for the near future… My first duty must be to heal the scars of war and assume my role for the people. But then, we can begin our life together."

"That's all right. I'm a tactician, remember? I'll figure something out." Robin assures.

"Thank you."

"I can't help but think back to the day we first met… Strange, isn't it, the way fate brought us together? I am a lucky woman to have met you, and luckier still now."

"I know together we can bring joy back to the royal palace. I'll do everything I can to make the castle a happy home for us… my love."

"My love."

Their partners smile at how things turn out for them.


	20. The Wedding and Duet

Chapter 20: The Wedding and Duet

After the war against Plegia was over, the Shepherds all returned home and rebuild Ylisse. Chrom and Robin keep their engagement silent, deciding to announce it after the celebration. Both Reina and Meena introduces Kai to the Shepherds and tells them that he was being manipulated by Gangrel and Aversa.

Once the group returns to Ylisstol, the citizens cheer for their return and the end of the mad king Gangrel. After that, the whole city spends the rest of the day partying, whether it be in the homes, streets, or the castle walls.

"Oh man! All this food is definitely worth that big battle! I'm starving!" Vaike exclaims, stuffing his face with some pasta.

In the dining room, every Shepherd is seated at the long table and are enjoying the meal the chefs prepared for them. Even their Pokémon are sitting at the table and enjoying the food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" Maribelle scolds. "And just when I thought your appetite was the one thing that wasn't as vulgar as your personality."

"Can you blame him? We all fought hard back there." Sully reasons.

"Especially the Pokémon. They fought their hardest out there, especially, Quin, Jang, and Drago!" Lissa agrees, looking to their partners, who are also stuffing their faces with food, though not as messy as the Shepherd fighter.

"At least they have better table manners than Vaike." The wealthy daughter sighs.

"Hope there's dessert later. I could use some good cake." Gaius says.

"Cake sounds nice for dessert!" Nowi agrees.

"By the way, Reina," Sumia calls. "Can you tell us the name of Quin's, Jang's, and Drago's new form?"

"Sure," Reina replies as she gets her Pokédex out in front of them.

 **"Chaoboo, the Fire Pig Pokémon. The evolved form of Pokabu. When its internal fire flares up, its movements grow sharper and faster. When it is angered, the intensity of the flame increases."**

 **"Jyarango, the Scaly Pokémon. The evolved form of Jyarako. It makes noise by clanging its scales together. When the rhythm has reached its peak, Jyarango attacks."**

 **"Dihead, the Violent Pokémon. The evolved form on Monozu. After it has eaten up all the food in its territory, it moves to another area. It always eats too much."**

Meena looks and sees Donnel hesitating, simply looking at the food on the table. "Is there something wrong, Donnel?" She asks.

"Huh? On it's nothing. Just that… I'm a villager and I'm here eating in a castle with the royal family. What my folk would give to be in my place." The boy answers.

"That's true, but you here because you fought with us. You helped us end the war. If anything, you became an inspiration to your people and all the other farmers and villagers out there."

The farm boy takes in what Meena said and finds it to be true.

"Yeah. I guess I did." Donnel says at the least. "Whew. Now that I got off my chest, let's dig in!" He gathers some food on his plate and eats.

Meanwhile, as Chrom eats, Robin walks up to him. "Hey, Chrom. Can I talk to you for a moment?" She asks.

"Huh? Oh sure, Robin." He nods and the two leave the room.

As they leave, both Luke and Drago glance at each other before smirking at one another.

* * *

With Chrom and Robin, the tactician is talking to the prince about their little secret.

"I know we said we will tell them after this celebration, but I don't think I can hide it for long. About us." She tells him.

"I think I know what you mean. On our way back, I couldn't help but notice our Pokémon giving these weird look on their faces." He agrees.

"You don't think they know, do you?"

"Well considering Luke has great senses and Drago is quite close to you." He then thinks for a minute. "Wait, why are we worried about this? Shouldn't it be okay if our partners know about our engagement?"

"Yeah, but what if they tell the other Pokémon? And don't forget that Luke can speak telepathically."

Chrom thought about the possibility; even if they can keep a secret, what if Luke talked to the other Pokémon and one of their Shepherds overheard? They wanted the engagement to be a secret to be a surprise and a symbol of a good future for all of Ylisse.

"Well, I guess we can't keep it a secret for long then." HE speaks. "Come. Let's spread the news to them all. Might even liven up the party.

Robin smiles in agreement to the idea. "Yeah. I supposed we kept this hidden long enough.

At that final decision, they go back inside and tell the big news.

* * *

The next day after announcing the engagement to the Shepherds, the city of Ylisstol goes round about. Everyone celebrates their prince's union and congratulates the two. However, the wedding won't be soon since they have to rebuild Ylisse but with the help of Feroxi muscle and Plegian gold, the people found peace. All the while, the prince forswore the title of exalt, out of respect for his late sister.

"Looks like the city went back to normal," Reina says as she and Meena walk through the streets for sightseeing as they see that the citizens are bustling once again.

"You're right." Meena agrees.

"Hey Meena, what should we do for Chrom's and Robin's wedding present?" Reina asks.

"But their wedding is still a week later. Isn't it too early to talk about that?"

"That's because it _is_ a week later! That's why we need to prepare a present for them."

"Hmm…" Meena hums thinking about what Reina said. "I guess you're right. So what do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking of playing that piece on the violin with you."

"Ah, I get it. That piece suits well for the wedding."

"Then it's settled."

"But one quick question. Where are we going to practice?"

"Fufufu. Don't worry. I already found a spot that no one knows about. Plus it's a perfect spot too."

"If you say it's a great spot then it's probably is."

"Then let's go later with our violin."

After coming back into the castle, the two immediately go to their rooms before picking up the instrument and leaves at Meena follows Reina to the spot where she found. Once they reach there, Meena is surprised to see a meadow of flowers with a lone tree.

"Wow!" Meena exclaims. "I can't believe that there still a beautiful place like this is still intact."

"Right," Reina replies as she puts down her case and opens it. "Before the war even began, I was looking around outside the city and found myself wound up at this place."

"Sound like you," Meena says as she also puts down her case and opens it.

Both sisters then hold their violin and bow and stand by each other. Then the two set their violin in between their chin and shoulder before nodding each other and set the bow on the violin string as they close their eyes before playing a song (You guys don't need to know the song yet in this part). When they finish the last note of the song, the two moves the violin away from the chin and shoulder and looks at each other.

"It sounds good just now," Reina says.

"Yep." Meena agrees and looks down. "But…"

"Do you want to play it a little bit longer?" Reina guesses and Meena nods.

With that, the two begin to play the violin again as the wind blows through them.

* * *

~Later~  
Back at the castle

Both Reina and Meena are now walking through the hallways with their violin case in their hand as both of them look at each other.

"Tomorrow we're going to practice there again." Reina tells her sister.

"Okay." Meena replies.

"There you are!" The two stop and turn their heads forward seeing Lissa rushing up to them.

"Lissa." Reina calls. "Is there something wrong?"

Lissa stops in front of them. "Where did you two go to? You had made me and Maribelle worried!"

"Sorry. The both of us were practicing secretly." Meena says.

"Practicing? For what?"

"That will be a secret." Reina states.

"Tell me!"

"No way."

The next day was the same routine for the two sisters for practice at the meadow and they continue repeating it for a week until it is the wedding day. In the castle, everyone is in their suits or dresses, with the exceptions of the Pokémon, who only wear bowties or tiaras, and are seated in their seats. Chrom stands at the wedding alter, quite nervous of for the event.

"Chrom, calm down. You're being too stiff." Kai, his best man, tells him.

"Easier said than done." The prince says.

Then the music starts playing, and the doors open up, prompting him to be silent and watch, as the bridesmaid and groomsmen walk down the walkway in pairs. The flower girl rushes down the aisle after them, spreading flower petals everywhere. After the little girl, she came; walking down in her glowing white wedding dress, Robin is behind led by Luke, as per Chrom's request since Robin didn't have parents with Drago following her holding up the dress with his mouths. After they reach him, Luke gives the groom a good pat on the shoulder as if telling him, 'good luck.' The Ellade then takes an empty seat in the front row.

Libra, who is the wedding officiant, clears his throat. "Are you two ready?"

"Yes." Chrom and Robin answers.

"Then let us begin." Libra continues and says his lines for the wedding. He then asks for their vows to each other and the ring exchange before he announces, "You may kiss the bride."

With that, Chrom kisses Robin on the lip and separates her. The audience claps their hands at the union.

Later, everyone is in the ballroom eating a banquet for the wedding while congratulating the newlywed couple. Then, someone claps their hands to get everyone's attention to see that someone was Reina with Meena by her side.

"Everyone." Reina speaks. "Meena and I have a present prepared for Chrom and Robin for them just for today."

"Present?" Lissa repeats.

Flamma then walks over to them with two violin cases in his hands and passes them to the two. Then Reina and Meena opens the cases before grabbing the violin and the bow and they set the violin below their chin before playing a piece.

[Kanata and Towa duet]  
(Reina plays Kanata's part and Meena plays Towa's part)  
watch?v=dW3-KsLw_zE

Everyone in the room is at awe at the two and listen to the song as they could see Reina and Meena at a flower meadow playing the song while the wind blows through them with the flower petals. When the two finish playing the last note, they move their violins away from their chin and the sound of clapping hands slowly surface. Then Chrom and Robin walk up to them as the sister put their violins back into the case.

"Reina, Meena, thank you for the gift." Chrom says.

"That song was beautiful." Robin praises.

"Thank you." Reina says.

"Have you been practiced a lot?" Chrom asks.

"Yes. We practiced that song every day from last week." Meena answers.

"I see."

"But where did you practice?" Robin asks.

"It was a beautiful flower meadow. No one knows about it while the war was going on."

"It must have been beautiful."

"Yes." Meena answers. "But…"

"What's wrong?" Chrom asks.

"It's just that that, every time when we leave the castle and came back, Lissa always asked us where we were." Meena states. "And there were times that we felt that someone was following us so we took a detour to the meadow to derail them."

"Sounds like you had a rough time." He points out.

"Well, it's better than having your fans following me every step." Reina exasperatedly sighs.

Both Chrom and Robin have sweatdrops on their head from hearing that.

"Overall, that was the best performance that you gave us. Thank you, both of you." Chrom says.

"Your welcome, Milord." Reina and Meena reply.

"Ha ha. Hearing that title from you two feels strange." Chrom states.

"Technically, you became a ruler recently to respect Emmeryn." Reina points out.

"You definitely have a point there, Reina." Robin agrees and giggles for a bit.

Then the four laughs and later they talk more to each other.


	21. The Moone Pokémon and Hoenn Legend

Chapter 21: The Moone Pokémon and Hoenn Legend

It's been a few days since Chrom and Robin's wedding and things are settled down. Citizens went back to their daily lives, soldiers are training and improving their skills, and the Shepherds are having the time to relax, now that the war against Plegia was over. The only difference is the Pokémon, who became a part of their lives. Some civilians have Pokémon that are treated as pets or help them to get ready for work or deliveries. Most soldiers have Pokémon whom they trained with and joined the Shepherds in their Pokémon lessons with Reina, Meena, and Kai.

Speaking of Reina, she just woke up on her bed of the new day and did self-cleaning before she about to change her clothes. That's when Kai came in without warning. "Hey, Reina, there's something I want to talk… to… you." He says, but his eyes widen.

With her back facing him, Reina has her shirt about to pull down, leaving her underwear showing as she has her head facing towards him. Reina looks at Kai and her eyes widen and then her face turns red.

"P-PERVERT!" She screams as she raises her fist up.

Kai panics while blushing bright red. "N-No, wait! I didn't mean to-!" He stammers, but it is too late for him to explain when Reina punches him.

~Later~  
In the Mess hall

Most of the Shepherds stares at Reina and Kai who are facing each other on the same table. They could see Reina having an angered look with her eyes closed as she eats and Kai with a closed eye, sheepish smile as his left cheek swollen red.

"H-Hey, Reina. Are you still angry?" Kai asks.

"Not really," Reina replies.

"But you're really scowling…"

"This is my normal look."

Then Lissa and Maribelle are walking together with food with and happens to see this.

"What happened?" Lissa asks.

"Kai went into Reina's room while she was getting dressed and getting punched to the cheek." Sumia replies.

"H-How dare he! He just went in there without knocking!" Maribelle exclaims.

"That explains the swollen cheek." Lissa states.

Reina then puts down the plate. "So," She starts and looks at Kai. "What is it that you want to talk about?"

"Do you remember how I told you that I caught amazing Pokémon over at Alola region?"

"Yeah."

"The Pokémon that came out from my Poké ball from a few weeks was one of them."

"I was wondering about that Pokémon. So what is it called?"

"That's Solgaleo. One of the two legendary Pokémon of Alola region."

From this statement causes everyone in the room to be silent and shock as they look at him.

"A legendary…" Reina mutters and leans in. "That's amazing! Not many trainers could catch a legendary Pokémon!"

"But Kai." Meena walks in happened to hear the conversation. "You said two right?"

Kai closes his eyes as he digs his hand into his pocket and takes out a Poké ball before enlarges it and on it was a moon sticker.

"This is the other one. But I want it to be a surprise for you, Reina." He says.

"For me?" Reina points to herself.

"It is coming up soon, right? Your birthday."

"…Huh?"

"Could it be… that you forgot?" Kai asks.

"Th-That's not it!" Reina shouts with an embarrassed blush. "It just that I was busy with the Shepherds when I got here and then Meena came and…" She then looks down before mumbling, "…What happened to you."

Kai widens his eyes slightly and calms down before smiling at her. "Now then." He says as Kai stands up, getting her attention. "Let's trade. You still have Fuko, right?"

"Yeah," Reina replies.

"Then it's perfect. But let's do it outside."

As per Kai's request, he and Reina go outside with Meena and the Shepherds following them and stops. Kai then pulls out a small metallic cube and presses a button that was on it before placing it on the ground and steps away. The cube then hums, surprising the Shepherds, except Reina and Meena as it transforms into a bigger machine. The machine has a suction cup at each ends with a screen having a Poké ball spinning on it in between them and a screen with a lever below it.

"Wh-What is this thing?!" Lissa asks.

"This is the Pokémon Link Transfer system. When two trainers want to trade their Pokémon, they use this machine to trade their Pokémon to each other." Meena explains.

"But why Fuko?"

"Fuko was originally Kai's Pokémon." Reina answers as she gets Fuko's Poké ball.

"'Originally'? You mean Fuko wasn't your Pokémon in the first place?"

"That sounds about right." The Pokémon archer replies as she and Kai walk towards it at either side of the machine. The two then place their Poké ball on each plate that is below each of the suction cups and Kai then approaches the lever.

"Pokémon link trade, start!" He says as Kai pulls the lever down, starting up the machine.

The machine produces electricity sparks from the suction cups to the Poké balls, causing them to slowly rise and eventually into the machine. On the screen shows two Poké balls showing up and switch places to one another sides. Soon, the sparks appear once again as the two Poké balls descend to the plate when the spark disappears.

"Looks like the trade is a success." Kai states and both he and Reina grab their traded Poké balls.

Lissa then walks behind her and see the Poké ball in Reina's hand. "I wonder what kind of Pokémon it is."

"Let's find out!" Reina throws the Poké ball into the air and it snaps open. Out from the ball is a large Pokémon that resembles a skeletal, legless bat.

"Let's find out!" Reina throws the Poké ball into the air and it snaps open. Out from the ball is a large Pokémon that resembles a skeletal, legless bat.

It has a short snout, dark pink eyes with white centers, and a deep blue area on its upper head that shows a constantly changing starscape. A rigid raised hood wraps around its head in a crescent shape and drapes around its neck as well. The outside of the hood is yellow, while the inner part that curves around its head is a pattern of deep blue and white streaks. Its torso resembles a ribcage with a slightly curved spike on each shoulder and three spikes extending from the bottom toward its tail. Its massive wings resemble a bat's wings with the skeleton exposed, except that its wings have a total of seven "finger bones": four running through each wing, one running along the edge to the outermost tip, and two pointing upwards that may act as claws that are more functional. The four "bones" through its wings are only visible in segments. The skin of its wings is an iridescent deep blue, and a light blue light source appears to glow from behind its ribcage. A large, pale yellow crescent connects the outermost tip of each wing to the next two inner tips, and the remaining two innermost tips are adorned by yellow, four-pointed stars. The bottom of its tail is also lined by a yellow crescent, with a ridge running up the middle of the tail towards the ribcage.

The Pokémon screeches out and descends down in front of the group.

"That's a big bat." Vaike says.

Reina turns to Kai. "Kai. What kind of Pokémon is this?"

"This is Lunala. The second one of the legendary Pokémon of Alola region." Kai says and looks at Reina. "And Reina. I'll leave Lunala to you. It's your Pokémon now."

"Lunala…" Reina moves her head from Kai to the bat-like Pokémon as Lunala looks down at her. "…is my Pokémon…"

For the moment, Reina and Lunala stare at each other when Reina slowly approaches it as the Pokémon leans down towards her.

"…Can I touch you?" Reina asks and in respond, Lunala leans its head closer as Reina raises her arms towards it and embraces as the two close their eyes with Reina has her head against Lunala's. "So warm… " For a few seconds, the two separate themselves as they open their eyes again. "I'm Reina. It's nice to meet you, Lunala."

* * *

~Two days later~

"Moonblast!" Reina's voice shouts and soon an explosion occurs. The soldiers who have partner Pokémon are watching their fellow soldiers battling Reina at the training field for practice. However, of all the Pokémon she has, Reina chose Lunala to battle. With just a few turns, she had already finished battling with the soldier as his Pokémon, a black hyena is lying on the field with swirls as its eyes.

"Phew. The battle's over. Good work!" Reina states.

"Pikachu!" Éclair says.

"Thank you very much!" The soldier replies as he walks towards his Pokémon while the Pokémon sits up and then the two look at Lunala. "Still, that Pokémon is beautiful and yet strong."

"If you think I'm giving it to you, then you're mistaken." Reina states as she walks towards her Pokémon and puts her hand on Lunala's large body.

"Pika pika." Éclair nods.

"Th-That's not what I meant, Miss Reina!"

"I see things are quite busy here." A familiar voice says causing everyone in the vicinity looks and sees Chrom and Robin are approaching them.

"Your Majesty!" All the soldiers gasp and straighten their backs in the Exalt's presence as Reina walks towards them.

"Pikachu!" Éclair immediately gets off from her perch towards them specifically to Robin.

"Chrom, Robin, you're back." Reina says.

"Yeah." Chrom replies as Robin picks up Éclair.

"We heard the news, Reina. That you got yourself a new Pokémon." Robin says.

"That's right." Reina replies.

Chrom looks at Lunala. "Is that it?"

"Yeah." Reina then turns to it. "Lunala!" The Moone Pokémon hears the call and hovers towards them at the call before stopping behind Reina. "Lunala, these are Chrom and Robin." She turns back at the two. "Chrom, Robin, this is Lunala. One of the legendary Pokémon of Aloha region."

"Legendary? Are they different from normal Pokémon?" Robin asks.

"Legendary Pokémon are a group of incredibly rare and often very powerful Pokémon, especially in legends and myths of my world. Many of them are worshipped as gods by some groups of people because according to legends they shaped the world."

"They shaped the world?!" Robin asks.

"That's all according to legends from my region and Sinnoh, another region. From what Kai told me, Solgaleo and Lunala are emissaries of the sun and moon from Alola region."

"Emissary…" Chrom starts.

"…of the sun and moon?" Robin finishes.

"I don't know the exact details but from what Kai told me the reason how they got their titles. For Solgaleo is the 'beast that devours the sun' and Lunala is the 'beast that calls the moon'. That's what Kai told me after reading a book of Alola's history."

"It sounds like there are more to that than what you told us, Reina." Chrom says.

"Even if you asked me, that's all I know. Plus, I've never been to Alola region before." Reina shrugs as she has her eyes closed.

"Well moving aside of the subject, we just want to congratulate you on the Pokémon."

"Thank you." Reina replies and notices the time. "I think it's about time for Meena and Kai to finish at their side."

"Do you have plans later today?" Robin asks.

"Yeah, something like that. If you like you two can join us." Reina offers.

"You don't mind?"

"Don't worry about it. Meena will agree with me on the subject."

"Then we'll accept your offer, Reina." Chrom says.

"Reina!" The group turns and sees Meena running up towards them with Kai behind her and stops in front of them. "Chrom, Robin, you're back."

"How was the honeymoon?" Kai asks.

"It was excellent." Robin replies.

"Hurry up, Kai. Or else, we'll miss the scenery." Reina tells him.

"Oh. Sorry, Reina." Kai says and walks to her side.

"Scenery?" Chrom and Robin repeat.

Then Kai takes out the Poké ball with the sun sticker and throws it into the air, releasing Solgaleo from its Poké ball and softly lands next to Lunala.

"Let's hop on!" Reina exclaims as she and Meena run towards Lunala as Kai goes to Solgaleo.

"Wait, Reina, Meena!" Robin calls out as she chases after the two and Chrom did the same for Kai.

Once three trainers get on the backs of the two legendary Pokémon, they help Chrom and Robin to get on Solgaleo and Lunala respectively. Then Reina and Kai looks at each other before nodding to one another and faces forward.

"Ready…" Reina starts as both Solgaleo and Lunala takes a stance.

"GO!" She and Kai shout and the two Pokémon flies up into the sky at a high-speed, surprising the two as they have their eyes closed from the wind of the speed and enter the clouds. On the other side of the clouds, Solgaleo and Lunala emerge with the trails of clouds behind them.

"Open your eyes, Chrom, Robin." Reina calls and the two did that as they are awe at the scene that they are seeing.

It is a beautiful sunset with the blanket of clouds dyed in orange as the half of the sun is shown.

"Isn't it amazing?" Meena asks.

"Yes." Robin replies.

"I don't think a pegasus would reach where we are." Chrom states. "Is this the power of a legendary Pokémon?"

"There's also another legendary Pokémon lives at the stratosphere." Kai states.

"Stratosphere?" Robin repeats at the foreign word.

"It's where the sky ends above us." Reina states as she has her head turn behind her where Robin is.

"It's really high up there." Meena adds.

"Is it really that far up?" Robin asks.

"Yeah. In order to get up there, we need special gears to breathe in at that area." Reina replies.

"That's impossible. How can a Pokémon live at a place like that?"

"Who knows. By the time we knew it, it was already there. Also, there are past records of spotting of the ancient past to the present." Then Reina's voice changes from serious to happy tone. "We'll tell you about the legend around it later. For now, let's enjoy the view."

"You're right." Chrom agrees and with that, the five, Solgaleo and Lunala enjoy the scenery as the sun goes down.

When the sun fully sinks down into the clouds, Solgaleo and Lunala bring the humans back down to the castle. After they land, Reina asks Chrom to gather the Shepherds to the garrison for Reina, Meena, and Kai to tell a story from their world. Once he did that, the Shepherds are gathered at the garrison for the three to tell the tale.

"Long, long ago, the world was overflowing with natural energy. Then two Pokémon, Groudon, and Kyogre fought in their original forms fought over that energy in endless clashes. In the face of their great power, people could do nothing. But one Pokémon, Rayquaza intervened, and its power overwhelmed that of the two Pokémon, and peace returned to the world." Reina retells the story. "However, thousand years later, a meteoroid hit the earth, causing cracks in the ground that unleased natural energy, causing the two Pokémon to rebattle each other. At that time, humans had a collective memory of how Rayquaza saved their race long ago, and that wish combined with the power of the meteorite allowed Rayquaza to chanced its form for the first time and calm the two from quarreling. After Groudon and Kyogre went back to slumber, Rayquaza return back to the sky."

"Wow… I never thought you have a history like that." Lissa speaks.

"So what happened to those two Pokémon now? Are they still sleepin' or something?" Sully asks.

"Due to recent event's back at our world, Groudon and Kyogre were awakened and battled once again at the present time. Just like the legend had been told, Rayquaza once again intervene and calmed the two Pokémon down and they now roam around the world on land and sea peacefully."

"So if they won't do anything when the humans don't disturb them?" Stahl asks.

"Yep." Meena answers. "To be frank, there are some Pokémon who are distrust towards humans for destroying their natural habitat causing them to not make contact with them."

"That's… understandable." Chrom frowns.

"Yes. I would get angered too if anything happened to the capitol." Frederick adds.

"So are there any questions?" Kai asks.

"I think you answer all of our questions." Robin replies.

"Then let's go to bed. I'm tired from all that training earlier." Reina says.

"Yeah. Let's all go to bed." Chrom agrees.

With that, the Shepherds file out of the garrison to their rooms in the castle to sleep for the night.


	22. The Seacomers

Chapter 22: The Seacomers

~Two years later~

At the target field, someone looking at the target 150 meters or over and aims an arrow at it. After letting out a breath, she stretches the string with the arrow and releases it, hitting dead center of the target. Seeing this satisfies the archer before hearing a familiar voice.

"Pika!" Turning around, she sees her partner Pikachu running up to her and stops at her feet.

"What is it, Éclair? Is Chrom calling for me?"

"Pikachu." Éclair nods and the archer puts the bow into her case and picks it up when Éclair climbs up to her shoulder.

Then the wind blows through the archer as her below shoulder-length hair slightly parts away from her face, revealing to be Reina.

Her outfit changed during the two years' time as she wears armor on her chest and covers her left arm and hand leaving her wearing a glove on her right hand. Under the chest armor, she still wears her prior outfit but with pantyhose under the pleated kilt skirt. Reina still has her moon pendant with the mega stone hanging on her neck and wears a ring that has a symbol that similar to a crescent moon.

Reina walks through the corridor to the throne room where Chrom is waiting for her. Upon entering the room, she sees not only Chrom but Frederick, Lissa, Kai, and Meena there as well.

"Did you want to see me, Chrom?" Reina asks.

"Yes. I know I asked you this before, but are there any troubles with the soldiers and their Pokémon during training?" Chrom asks.

"Nope. The soldiers and their Pokémon are doing just fine. Didn't I told you this before yesterday?"

"Yeah, Chrom! You're such a worrywart when it comes to us and the Pokémon." Lissa points out.

Chrom nervously laughs. "My apologize."

Then they hear footsteps coming into the room and turn around to see a soldier coming into the throne room. After being here for so long, the trainers recognize that he is one of the guards from the castle gates.

"Sire, a messenger from Regna Ferox." He says.

The group looks at each other in surprise as the exalt turns to the soldier with a nod. "See them in at once."

The soldier bows. "Yes, milord."

Almost immediately after the man left, he soon returns with a familiar blond hair woman and soon bows at Chrom. "Prince Chrom, I come on behalf of Khan Regnant Flavia.

"Flavia?" Chrom says with curiosity. "Well, this is a surprise. Is something amiss?"

"I fear so, milord." Raimi nods with a frown. "The khan requests your presence at a summit as soon as you're able."

Chrom frowns with an anxious look. "What's happened?"

"Our western neighbors of Valm are no longer acting so neighborly. The emperor, who they name the Conqueror, has launched warships against us."

Chrom narrows his eyes with a composed expression as he speaks, "An invasion? Are you certain of this?"

The knight bows respectfully to him and answers, "Yes, milord. The Khan hopes to meet with you in Ferox if it pleases you."

They look to the exalt as Frederick asks, "What do you make of this, sire?"

He turns to his retainer. "Ill business to be sure. Raimi, we will meet with Flavia at once…"

As Raimi nods and takes her leave to quickly return to Regna Ferox, Robin comes walking over to them in her pink dress as she holds the infant princess in her arms. "Chrom…"

"I know what you're thinking, Robin, but we owe Regna Ferox a great debt. I must apprise myself of the facts there before deciding on a course of action." Chrom states.

"Nope, not what I was thinking." Robin smiles. "I was actually going to suggest we discuss strategy as we travel."

Her words surprise everyone, but the exalt shakes his head and looks to the young princess in her arms. "B-but Lucina is newly born! She needs her mother now."

"You told me House Ylisse has a tradition of wet-nursing," Robin says as she tries to persuade her husband. "And you and Lissa turned out rather well from where I stand. Lucina is a strong child; she takes after her father. The Brand in her left eye proves it."

It is as she said about their child. Lucina, their child, has not only inherited her father's cerulean blue hair but, from the day her blues eyes open, they were all shocked too in that she also inherited the Brand of the Exalt as well in her left eye.

Chrom frowns. "I'm not just worried about her, I'd worry about you as well."

"All the more reason to keep me close at hand, no? Together we can be more than we can alone, remember?" Robin reminds the exalt.

"Aw, let her come, Chrom! You could use her strategic thinking anyway." Lissa points out.

"All right, Robin. Just promise to stay safe. Lissa and I had Emm of course, but we lost our parents when we were young. I want Lucina to grow up with her whole family around her." Chrom says.

"As do I. You have my word." Robin says.

"I will ride ahead and assemble an escort, milord." Frederick says.

"Thank you, Frederick." The exalt says before the knight bows and takes his leave immediately.

"I'm quite impressed, Chrom. You make a fine ruler. You come a long way from tending sheep!" Robin says.

"Ha! Have I truly changed so much?" Chrom asks.

"Mmm… In a way, you haven't. But you've grown a leader, and, of course, as a father."

"I've tried to do my best. My sister left a weighty legacy. I do all I can just to live up to it."

* * *

After setting up for their departure, the Shepherds march towards Regna Ferox. For what it seems to be hours as the sun begins the set, Chrom decided to set up camp for the night even though he wanted to continue on the march but he knew better than to tire out his own men before a battle. The next morning, they arrive at the Ferox castle. Even though two years have passed, everything is still the same as when they first came to the Halidom with blue carpet and a large banner with two wolves hanging above a throne. In the center stands none other than the blond hair warrior.

The exalt immediately walks up to her with his tactician and the two trainers, Reina and Kai.

"I apologize I could not come sooner, Flavia." Chrom says.

The Khan shakes her head with a smile, "What matter is you are here, Chrom.

"Is it true Valmese warships have set sail? What can you tell us?"

Flavia frowns and shakes her head with a shrug. "Not much more than that, I'm afraid. The details remain hazy. Just a moment…" She turns her head and shouts, "Oaf! …Where are you, you big, bald– Chrom is here!"

Seeing this, Kai moves closer to Reina, "Is Flavia this kind of person?"

"Yep." Reina simply replies.

It wasn't before the eye-patched Khan shows up and walks over to them. "Ah! Well met, boy. I knew you'd come. We have someone you should hear from. I believe you've met? He claims to have insight into Valm's intentions."

Basilio goes to call in the person and then two figures walk over to the group. Their eyes widen in shock at the sight of one of the people in front of them.

"Virion?!" Reina exclaims in shock upon the sight of him.

The blue haired archer smiles at the sight of them. "Good day, lords and ladies. How fare you all? Allow me the great pleasure, and indeed honor, of introducing myself…"

"We all know who you are, Virion. Although I don't believe we've met your companion?" Chrom asks.

Virion smirks and bows as he continues, "Hmph! You know nothing! Prepare for my great unmasking! Long have I posed as archest of archers! Yet that was but a ruse! Yea, an artifice, to disguise myself as a mere above-average man. In truth, I am-"

The woman with long red hair and wears silver armor decorated with wyvern shaped wings, clears her throat interrupting the archer's fancy speech in the process and finishes politely with a kind smile. "May I present Duke Virion. I am his humble servant, Cherche. Greetings, sire. You honor us with your presence."

"Cherche!" The man says in disappointment. "You stole my moment!"

Ignoring the duke, Chrom turns to the woman. "A pleasure, Cherche. Perhaps you could speak on your master's behalf?"

The woman nods. "That may speed things along, yes…"

"Then please. Time is of the essence."

The young woman bows deeply, "Very well, then. First, concerning our origins… We hail from Rosanne, of fertile territory on the continent of Valm. Milord is the head of House Virion, and the rightful ruler of Rosanne." She smiles and points out, "A fact he often reminds us of– and loudly."

"Ha!" Virion exclaims with a smile and a shrug. "Is she not a true wit? She gets it all from me, you know."

Despite his words, the group continues to ignore his statement and continues. "So what brings a noble and his charge all the way across the long sea?" Chrom asks.

Hearing this, the archer's face quickly becomes serious as he answers, "The Valmese. Theirs was an unremarkable nation once. Tiny, almost pitiful so. Had our continent not shared its name, you might almost have forgotten it existed. And so Valm might remained, if not for Walhart the Conqueror. One by one, he has taken the surrounding realms into his growing empire. I had no choice but to ru… Er, that is, to RECRUIT new allies to aid my people. That's why I've come."

"…You fled for your life." Chrom says as he understands what the man was about to say.

Cherche nods. "More or less, yes. While milord hastily gathers his valuables and guided his people out to safety… I alone remained to keep an eye on the Valmese crisis. I was there as Rosanne was swallowed up by Emperor Walhart's overwhelming forces. In the end, I, too, fled here to Regna Ferox seeking asylum."

"To my great relief, I might add!" Virion says with a smile. "Eligible women are one of Rosanne's most precious natural resources! It would be a shame to waste any, even one who cuts of her lord and ma-"

"Ahem! As I was saying…" Cherche says with a cold smile as she gives a quick glance over to her master.

The archer nods and says, "Yes, yes, all right, it was only a jape!" He then turns to them with a nervous expression. "Please, by all means, you may con-"

"So begging your pardon, but perhaps it is time this long story short: Walhart has conquered our continent and now seeks to conquer yours."

Basilio walks up to the group with a stern look. "She claims the Valmese fleet will be at our shores in matter of days. We'll know soon enough if her story proves true."

I speak only what I know for true, good people. As does my lord." The woman says with confidence before giving her master a glare. "…At least, with respect to this matter."

"There's that wit of yours again!" Virion says with a nervous chuckle. "That wonderful… needing, chafing wit."

Before anyone can say anything, Chrom immediately says to the two, "I believe you both." His allies nod in agreement as he turns to the West-Khan. "Basilio, we must secure your ports as soon as possible."

"You should know that Valm has the strongest cavalry in the world." The Duke informs them as soon as he hears the captain's words. "You will want to station troops with experience fighting mounted troops."

They look at him in surprise as Chrom asks the archer nervously upon the advice, "Why, Virion, are you volunteering?"

"Of course." The archer bluntly answers. "I can't let Walhart continue to take control of Rosanne. I came to warn of the invasion Valm will bring on this land-"

"Milord wishes to join this battle in hope of freeing the people of Rosanne from Walhart's tyranny." Cherche quickly finishes.

Chrom nods as he says to the two, "All right, then. I appreciate your help in this fight. Robin, I'll be counting on you in strategizing a new tactic against this threat."

"Of course, Chrom." Robin says with a confident smile. "Leave it to me."

* * *

When they reach the port, they spot the largest ship than the rest with the most foreign and elegant design. Once they arrive, they are surrounded by numerous soldiers around them wearing gold and red armor, some with silver rather than gold. It's also just as Virion informs them before, many, if not all of the soldiers, ride on horseback.

Near the rails of the boat stands a strict tall man with pale brown hair and a beard and equips with a long spear in his hand. He glares at the villager, who wishes to talk with the man, but the spearman shows no change on his face as he frowns.

"You dare board our ship, worm? I will not discuss terms with a peasant; I will issue demands to all!" He then comes closer to the rails and declares, "Citizens! Soldiers! Hear my words! The Conqueror himself, Emperor Walhart, claims dominion over these lands! You will grant your new emperor your ships! You will grant him all your provender! You will grand him your loyalty and your every possession! And you will surrender this land's greatest treasure, the Fire Emblem! Do this, and your lives will be spared. Resist, and your lives are forfeit! Now, kneel! And swear fealty to the mighty Valmese Empire!"

Shock, the villager stammers in a plea, "B-but if you take all that we have, how are to make our living? Without food and ships, people will starve! Would you have us all die?"

The Spearman turns to the man with a nod. "…You'll do for now."

Much to the man's horror, the captain raises his spear high above him and quickly brings it down upon the man.

Chrom grimaces the scene before them. "These savages will never listen to reason. Everyone: prepare to engage!"

The exalts retainer looks over to his charge with concern. "Milord, are you certain? Another war…"

Without hesitation, Chrom looks over to the two with a nod and says firmly, "I've had time to ponder Ylisse's place in the world, Frederick. …And my own. We must stand against evil, in all its form or there can be no peace!"

Suddenly, they hear a roar not far behind them and sees a large wyvern. Riding on its back is none other than the ax-wielding vassal of the fallen duke.

"Might I join, sire?" Cherche asks as her wyvern lands next to the exalt. "This may not be my country, but it is my cause. My dear Minerva here hungers for a bite of the action as well!"

Hearing this, Chrom nods. "Of course."

Upon his approval, the wyvern lets out a shriek and takes flight once more as the two sides begin to fight. The tactician quickly pairing the soldiers in hopes of dealing against the enemies' advantage with mounts and large numbers. As the fight continues, Lissa and Meena do their best in making sure that their comrades receive their aid as a healer. Throughout the fight, Reina snipes several mounted soldiers while Kai protects her back from the heavily armored knights and protecting the two is Éclair and Kai's Pokémon: a bipedal, pangolin Pokémon. It has an icy blue hide and quills covered in ice. These quills stand to resemble icicles. It has two large claws on its paws and feet. its claws are long, thin, and hooked at the tips. Despite the weight of its ice-covered body, it's able to move swiftly through the enemy soldiers with its claws while protecting its trainer and Reina.

The battle continues on for hours as the unrelenting enemies continue to charge forward under their captain's orders. Robin puts everything into her power to fight back against the Valmese soldiers while giving direction to the soldiers. Seeing that his men are slowly grinding away by the Shepherds, their captain finally joined in the fray as his horse gallops off the decks of the boat and on the port with his men. Kai notices this sudden change and begins to call out to their tactician. Robin quickly sends orders to him and Reina to stop the enemy captain which they comply.

Seeing the two standing in front of his way, the captain shouts at them, "You are nothing! A speck of sand on the boot of the great empire!"

Kai prepares himself as the captain brings down his short spear in his hand while Reina waits for an opening at the captain having Kai distract him with a prepared arrow. Reina then widens her eyes seeing the opening and let go of the arrow. Looking behind him, Kai sees the arrow before moving away at the trajectory of the arrow as it hits the captain in front of the neck.

"What… H-How…"

The man's body begins to limp off his horse down to the ground dead with the arrow still stuck in front of his neck. With the death of their captain, the rest of the fight soon much easier as they are able to quickly fight off the enemy cavalries. From there, the outcome of the battle became clear as it also didn't last much longer than one or half an hour. It wasn't until after Chrom takes down the last spearman and Robin finally able to rush over to her husband.

"Chrom, is that all of them?" She asks

The captain nods slowly as he looks around. "Yes, but victory's come with a price…"

Basilio frowns as he glances around the port and his men. "The town is in shambles, as is my army."

"This is most troubling news." Frederick notes with a worried look. "Feroxi soldiers are the finest east of the long sea. IF they are having trouble, we are ALL in trouble."

Flavia shakes her head in frustration and frowned. "That's not the half of it. This was just the vanguard–but a taste of the meal yet to come."

"And once it arrives, their host will wash over the whole continent in weeks. There's no way we could repel them and defend our people. It would be a slaughter.

Chrom nods as he adds, "Ylisse is no better equipped to handle an attack from the sea… Robin, What do you suggest?"

She begins thinking carefully as she glances around the area. "Their greatest strength is their cavalry, which puts us at a disadvantage… on land. But if we were to catch them at SEA…"

"But how?! Ylisse has no warships, nor does Ferox."

"So we'd need aid from a kingdom that does…" Basilio trails off as he thinks about those conditions.

"You have someplace in mind, oaf?" Flavia asks.

"Perhaps a land that borders the sea, with enough wealth to afford his campaign?"

"Plegia!" Robin shouts.

"No. Absolutely not." Chrom says bluntly as he voiced his disapproval. "Out of the question."

"They have gold, boy!" Basilio argues. "Countless ships! And more importantly, we have a fart's chance in the wind without them."

"The oaf is right. …Crude, but right. There's only one path forward."

"Chrom will you reconsider?" Robin asks.

The exalt remain silent before finally letting out a sigh of defeat. "…Very well. Send a messenger and request a summit immediately. Let us pray this new king is more reasonable than their last.

"Indeed."

"You know, Robin… For the first time against Valmese forces, that was an impressive victory. You and Chrom have both grown quite adept. You should be proud."

Soon everyone disperses to prepare for their trip to the Plegia castle.


	23. Of Sacred Blood

Chapter 23: Of Sacred Blood

A couple days have passed since Chrom have sent a messenger to Plegia castle. Since then, the healers have been busy treating the injured people of Port Ferox and a few of the Shepherds. By the third say at sunrise, Frederick approaches Chrom and Robin having the messenger came back.

"Milord, we have word from Plegia." He says. "They have agreed to meet with us at their outpost on Carrion Isle. A poor venue should things go sour, as the island's name makes plain. But then I don't see we have much of a choice."

"Cautious as ever, Frederick the Wary." Chrom says. "Don't worry. We'll get out ships. This threat hangs over all of us–Plegia as well. They must see that."

* * *

Upon entering the castle on Carrion Isle, Chrom, Robin, Frederick, Reina, and their Pokémon partner walk through the hallway and into the throne room where Aversa was waiting for them.

"Greetings, Prince Chrom. Plegia welcomes you." She greets.

"Aversa!" Chrom exclaims.

"What can I say? It seems fate has designs for me yet."

"You serve the new king, then? This… Validar?" Reina asks.

"I do."

"They say he worships Grima…" Frederick says.

"Why yes, of course he is Grimleal. We are both believers. My liege often says it was his faith that got him through, after Gangrel's passing. It was a difficult time… But he kept order where there might have been chaos. We had meant to arrange an official visit to Ylisstol, but–Ah, here is my lord now."

Entering the room surprises the group in shock as they see who Validar is. This man is the very person who led the attack at Ylisstol castle when Emmeryn was still alive.

"An honor to finally meet you, sire. I am Validar, king regnant of Plegia." Validar greets.

"The honor is mine, good king." Chrom hesitantly says. "…Is it possible we've met before some…" He stops and recognizes the Plegian king. "Gods! It can't be."

"Oh ho. I'm quite certain I would remember any encounter with Ylissean royalty."

"Psst! Robin, Reina!" Chrom whispers.

"I know! He looks just like the assassin that came after Emmeryn…" Robin whispers back.

"But why is he here?" Reina whispers.

"And you must be Lady Robin and Lady Reina." Validar says.

"You know of us, sire?" The tactician asks.

"The whole world knows of Ylisse's master tactician and master tamer!" Validar states and looks straight into Robin's eyes. "And indeed, I see the sparkle of wisdom in your eyes."

"But we killed him, Robin!" Chrom whispers.

"I know but… The resemblance… it's uncanny…"

"How could he possibly–"

"My, the negotiations haven't even begun and already so much whispering…" The new king states.

"…My apologies, King Validar. We meant no disrespect." Chrom says.

"Chrom? What should we do?" Robin whispery asks the exalt.

"Nothing for now. But stay close, and be ready for anything…"

"Then let us get to it."

"Plegia can offer no soldiers, but will provide 800 warships and 200 transports." Aversa says. "In addition, we would be pleased to fully fund the campaign against Valm."

"That is… surprisingly generous of you, milord. We could not ask for more, literally. You offer most all your assets…" Frederick points out.

"I would give troops as well, but our army remains in shambles from the last war. I trust the gold and ships will suffice as a sign of commitment to the cause?" Validar asks.

"Of course it will. Thank you, King Validar." Chrom replies.

"The honor is ours, my prince. I'm looking forward to building a strong bond between our two nations."

"As do I. Then, if there's nothing else? My men and I must hurry back to Port Ferox."

"Oh, so soon? But I have one more introduction to make." Aversa states.

"…Yes? And who would that be?"

"A hierophant, the highest of her order in all Plegia." Validar answers.

Just after he said that the hierophant enters the room and approaches to the group. Seeing the person before them has her hood covering her face.

"…So you lead the people in worship? We were just discussing religion earlier…" Robin says but the hierophant didn't say anything. "…I'm sorry, have I said something to offend you?"

"…The heart still sleeps, but the blood flows through it. And the blood is strong…" The hierophant speaks.

"…Huh? Beg pardon, were you talking to me?"

"Good hierophant, I would ask you lower your cowl. In Ylisse, it is a courtesy expected of one on the presence of royalty." Frederick says.

The hierophant didn't say immediately and answers, "…You are a long way from Ylisse, sir. …But very well…" The Hierophant takes the hood off, which surprises the group even further especially both Robin and Drago. "Is that better?"

"What?!" Robin exclaims.

"Head?!" Drago exclaims.

"By the gods!" Chrom shouts.

"What manner of sorcery–!" Frederick shouts.

"What the–?!" Reina shouts.

"Pika!"

"She looks just like… me."

Indeed, the hierophant looks identical to the Ylisse tactician, the hair, face, and even the voice.

"My name is Robin. Oh, and that was YOUR name as well, wasn't it? What a strange coincidence…"

"Why that IS rather curious, now that you mention it… what are the odds?" Validar questions but looks at the group. "In any case, I believe we are finished here. We will let you be on your w–"

"Hold just one moment!" Chrom shouts.

"Milord?" Aversa asks.

"What is the meaning of this? Why do your hierophant and Robin–"

"I'm afraid we've no time for such trivial matters now, your highness. We have aid preparations to attend to, and you have a long, hard journey ahead… Oh, and do be careful on your way back to Port Ferox. This time of tear the highroads of Plegia can be quite treacherous…"

* * *

It is finally night as most of the Shepherds began to head back to their tents to prepare themselves for their voyage out to sea the next day for their next battle as some of the other Shepherds remained on guard duty during the night. Despite knowing the importance of getting rest, Robin has been unable to get any sleep that night. She then sigh of irritation and decides to take a walk out of her tent after putting her armored robe and tome in hand. She stops to an empty training ground sighing again.

"It's no use. I can't sleep. Who was that woman? How could she bear my same face?" Robin questions.

"Robin… Heed me, Robin…" A voice calls.

"Huh? Who's there?!" She looks around to see no one is there. "Th-there's no one. I'm alone…"

"Heed my call, Robin…"

Just then Robin holds her head in pain. "Nngh… This voice is… in my head! Who are you?! What's happening?!"

In Robin's eyes, Validar appears before her. "Why do you close your heart to him, Robin?" He questions.

"V-Validar?"

"Have you truly forgotten?"

"You were… calling me… Augh! My head! Get out of my mind!"

"Heh heh. Such arrogance! You dare take such a tone… with your own father?!"

"…My what?"

"You are my flesh, but of sacred blood. You are to serve a glorious purpose! Search deep in your heart. You already know it is your destiny…"

"No… Get…out…"

"Why do you resist us, Robin? Your rightful place is at my side. Not wasting your time with these doomed servants of Naga! Give yourself to Grima! Let me join your strength to the fell dragon!"

"Robin!"

"Head-head!"

Chrom and Drago rush towards her seeing the tactician in pain, fearing that she would soon collapse.

"…Pah! Not this one again… No matter. In time you will see the truth. And that is all it will be–a matter of time…"

Validar soon disappears from Robin's sight as the pain in her head also gone.

"Robin! Are you all right?" Chrom asks with a concerned look. "I heard shouting."

"Mozu?" Drago walks up to her.

Finally, the tactician pulls herself together as she slowly steadies herself and looks towards them. "I-I think so… Yes, Chrom, I'm… I'm fine."

Chrom frowns. "'Fine' is a poor choice of words! What's happened?!"

"…King Validar, he… He spoke to me… in my mind. He said I was his… his daughter…"

The revelation left the two dumbfounded as Chrom shouts in shock, "What?! …Is this true?"

"I don't know… But I also don't know it's a lie. Loath as I am to say, I felt a… a strange connection, between us."

"Oh, gods… That hierophant doppelganger… Could she be the king's daughter, as well? Are you twins?"

At the words of this, Robin clenches her fist in frustration. "I… I'm sorry, Chrom. I can't remember… But if I'm being honest… it would explain much… I'm not even sure I want to know the truth of my past anymore…"

"You are yourself, before you are any man's daughter. Remember that."

"…Thank you, Chrom."

"Head!" Dihead brings his front legs on Robin's legs.

"Thank you, Drago." Robin pets her partner.

"Can you walk?"

"Yes… yes, I think so."

Chrom carefully leads Robin back to the camp with Drago behind her and just as they enter, Frederick runs up to him.

"Milord, we are under attack! Risen have encircled the camp!" He exclaims.

"But… we posted sentries! How did this happen?" Chrom asks.

"They made a stealthy approach, milord. I've never see Risen behave like this. Either they are learning our ways, or someone is commanding them…"

"Validar! This is his doing–I'm sure of it. Equip anyone who can bear arms, and tell them we fight for our lives!"

With that order, the militia quickly grabs what they can and fled into the woods as they fight against the oncoming horde of undead. After hours of running, Chrom and the Shepherds finally found themselves in a dead end in a ravine surrounded by hordes of Risen.

"Chrom! It's a dead end!" Lissa says in horror as she looks around their surroundings.

"I know that, Lissa! Damn it! Rob-"

Out of the blue, a large flock of crows flies around them blinding some of the Risens around them as they engulf the undead enemies.

"Wh-what's that? A storm of…crows? Gods, it's upon us!"

The sight of the ominous crows sends a few of their soldiers flailing as they try to get some of the crows off their shoulders and head.

"Stop!" Meena shouts out waving her hands to stop the prince from accidentally killing one. "I think they're helping us."

"CAW! CAW! Are you folks lost? Or perhaps a lost CAWs? Heh ha!"

They look around in panic as they fight off the incoming Risens.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!" The prince shouts among the large numbers of crows. "God's breath, I can't see anything through all these damned birds! Sorry, Meena, but-…Shoo! Scat! Away with you!"

With a swing of his sword, the crows immediately scatter through the dark sky. As they did so, a silver hair mage in Plegian clothing with a tome in hand stands as the birds fly off.

"What's wrong?" The man says with a laugh. "CAW-strophobic? Nyahaha! Oh, I slay me!"

Both Reina and Meena have a sweatdrop on their heads as Meena could only laugh weakly. Chrom however clearly didn't have the time to react as the others did and call out to him. "Not if these Risen do it first! This is no time for japes! Hide yourself boy!"

"You know, I thought you were all right…" The man says with a smile. "Turns you're all FRIGHT! Nyahaha! I'd wish you good luck killing these monsters, buuuut… They're ALREADY DEAD!"

"Can you please just stop with these puns?!" Kai shouts.

Chrom, however, ignores the swordsman and says to the dark mage, "We are well aware!"

As if ignoring the urgency of the dire situation they are in, the man just continues to smile brightly. "The ravens want me to give you a message. 'Caaw… C-caw-caw.' Roughly translated, it means…" He pauses and places a hand on his chin and mutters, "Now, what was the human word for that again? …Traipse? …Tripe? Oh, TRAPPED! Right!" He then glances at the busy exalt, who is still taking down incoming Risens. "…They say you're trapped."

"We know, damn it!" Chrom shouts in frustration. "Gods… where do they all come from?"

"Well, see, when a mommy zombie and daddy zombie love each other very much-"

One of the crows above dives down towards the mage while its beak glows and starts pecking rapidly at him causing him to scream in pain.

"Owie… What was that for, Kara?"

"Ka! Ka-ka! Ka!"

"I think it's trying to tell you to stop fooling around?" Meena guesses.

"Other than that, that's Yamikarasu!" Reina points out taking out her Zukan.

 **"Yamikarasu, the Darkness Pokémon. Yamikarasu confuses would-be attackers by luring them into dark mountain trails, where they are sure to get lost."**

"Putting that aside… As your friend said, if you don't stop, perhaps I should save the Risen the trouble and silence you myself." Chrom says with a threatening glare.

"Hey, wait! I want to join your CAWs-" The man stops with a nervous smile. "I mean, I can help you! I know magic! What do you say… Birds of a feather and all that?"

At his word, Chrom stops in his tracks and raises a brow. "Those robes… A Plegian dark mage? …why would you help us?"

"Oh, don't let all the joking around fool ya- I've got kind of thing for killing." The cheerful man says. "Most funny people do, you know. The two things must be linked somehow. Ever talk to a jester when he's off duty? Those guys are some sick dastards! Oh! The ravens also said to keep an eye on those fortresses. If you're nearby when more monsters emerge, it could CAWs quite stir! And my name is Henry, in case you need help just CAW! Nyahaha!"

Both Reina and Meena are speechless as an imaginative cold wind blows through them.

"That's cold." Reina says.

"Yeah." Meena agrees.

With new additions to the Shepherds, Henry and his partner Pokémon, Kara fight against the undead. The battle continued on for what seems like hours before Chrom decides to go after the leader of the horde with Luke, Robin, and Drago. It took a while, but the four made it to the leader which it begins to attack. With the sudden attack, Chrom blocks it with his sword with Luke attacks the undead leader with Robin and Drago supports them by sending their magic and attacks. Both Chrom and Luke end the leader with two different slashes that form an X, subsequently, the horde begins to slow down much to the Shepherds' relief.

On the bridge, Chrom finally lets out a sigh of relief as he finally brings down his blade. "That's the last of them. Gods, I thought it might nev-"

"Chrom, look out!" Robin shouts in shock.

Suddenly, another Risen appears in front of the four and rushes over to the exalt.

"Huh?! Ah!" Chrom exclaims with wide eyes and tries to defend himself.

 **"Chrom!"** Luke calls out as he goes to protect his partner.

However, with the speed of the Risen and the distance between them, the Ylissean prince and Ellade are unable to do so in time.

"Father, no!"

Suddenly a streak of blue dashes out from behind them and forcefully pushes the Great Lord aside as she blocks the incoming attack now coming at her. The undead quickly jumps back and immediately vanishes into thin air. Seeing that the enemy is gone, Marth let out a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods you're safe!"

"…You called me 'Father'." Chrom asks in confusion.

Hearing this, Marth's eyes widen in shock. "Did I? I… …Perhaps we might speak privately?"

"Perhaps we should, yes."

Moving to a different location where they are near a river Marth tries to explain to Chrom.

"I don't know where to begin." She says.

"I already know you're not 'Marth' though I've nothing better to call you… But I'll ask nothing of you that you don't wish to reveal." Chrom says. "Whoever you are, Ylisse owes a debt beyond repaying."

"Thank you, but… I think I would prefer you to know the truth. Here… Look closely, and all will be made clear." Marth takes a deep breath and walks closer to Chrom before turning towards him.

Looking closer to her face, Chrom gasps seeing the brand in her left eye. "That's the Brand of the Exalt…" He then widens his eyes in a realization of who she is. "Lucina…" The exalt looks down to the other Falchion in her possession. "You deserve better from me than one sword and a world of troubles. I'm sorry."

Tears spill out from her eyes and she tries to hold back her voice when Chrom brings his hand up wiping off the tears causing her to look up.

"Oh, Father!" She cries and hugs Chrom. "Father…"

The two distance themselves as Lucina calms down.

"Better, Lucina?" Chrom asks.

"Yes, Father… I'm sorry. It just all rushed back at once." Lucina replies.

"Father…" Chrom repeats.

"Should I call you something else?"

"No, it's just strange to my ear. …I like it."

"…Father! Heh heh…"

"Hah! Yes, it will take some getting used to!" Chrom scratches his head.

"I'm sorry–Chrom?"

He turns and sees his wife, Reina, and Kai behind them. "Hmm? Oh, Robin, Reina. What is it?"

"It just that… You two are out here alone, and Marth is… crying. This is how ill rumors are born." Robin says. "I trust you Chrom, but is there a reason you and Marth need to be alone?"

"That's right, Chrom." Reina agrees.

"Can we tell her, Lucina?" Chrom asks.

"Of course." Lucina replies.

"Lucina?!" Robin repeats in shock.

"Robin, this is going to come as a shock, but… I'll just say it: This is our daughter."

"…What?! Have you gone mad?!" Robin shouts.

"It's true, Robin." The woman says as she walks over to her. "Please, look closely. Prove it with your own eyes by looking into mine."

As she said this, Robin including Reina glances at her left eye, where the Brand of the Exalt was supposed on their infant.

The tactician gasps in shock. "Ah! You have the Brand!"

Chrom nods with a smile. "The same Brand carried by all House Ylisse's bloodline."

"Lucina's eyes bear the same exact pattern…"

"Do you see now?" The captain asks with a smile.

"…No, no I can't say that I do. If this is Lucina, What has befallen our baby back at the palace?"

"Nothing. She's fine."

"Your baby is right where you left her, and perfectly safe. I am her from another time. From a time that is yet to be." Lucina says.

"You mean… the future?" Robin asks with uncertainty.

"Yes, more than 10 years hence. After history takes a dark and most destructive turn…"

"But why? What happens in the future?!"

"The fell dragon, Grima, is resurrected." The future princess answers. "His roar is a death knell for man, a scream that silences all hope… Death everywhere…"

"Chrom? …Our whole company? All of us? Dead?!"

Lucina hesitantly answers. "…Yes."

"…I…I don't know what to say."

"A tale that beggars belief, and yet the truth of it stands before us." Chrom says. "She carries Falchion, my same sword. And the same sword the first exalt used to defeat Grima long ago."

"Your blade and mine are one, Father. It was… It was all I had left of you." Lucina says.

"There is only one Falchion, Robin. I believe her."

"Yeah, and so do I!" Lissa appears behind a tree and walks towards them. "Heck, I saw her COME from the future! She fell right out of the sky! I've never seen anything like it…"

"Thank you, Aunt Lissa." The blue-haired princess says. "Naga, the divine dragon, feared mankind would face Grima again. In preparation for that day, she devise a ritual. It allows one to return to the past and alter events already written. I made the journey together with others, but… we became separated."

"Don't worry, Lucina. If they're out there, we'll find 'em!"

Robin examines Lucina's figure since she still thinks it is hard to believe that the woman before her is her daughter. "My daughter…"

"Yes, Robin. Your daughter."

"You have grown into such a strong and beautiful woman… Chrom and I are truly blessed."

"Thank you… milady."

"Will you not me Mother?"

"I… thought you might mind."

"Of course not! I love you with all my heart!"

Lucina starts to sniffles and rushes over to embrace her mother. "Oh, Mother…"

"You are the finest daughter a woman could hope for, Lucina."

"Mother… Oh, I've missed you more than you'll ever know…"

Reina smiles at the scene when she notices something is missing and looks around.

"Lucina." She calls. "Where's your partner?"

Lucina separates the hug and looks down. "The thing is… She, Adella ran away two days ago."

"Ran away…" Reina mutters as she has her chin cupped before looking up. "Was she aggressive towards you at sometimes?"

Lucina shoots her head towards the trainer. "Yes!"

"Do you have an idea, Reina?" Robin asks.

"Yeah. Iwanko has the tendency to act aggressively when it's close to evolving."

"Evolving?" Lucina repeats.

"In other words, when Adella comes back, she will be in a different form. But…"

"What's wrong?" Chrom asks.

"I don't know which form Adella will evolve to."

"What do you mean?"

"I mentioned this before. How most Pokémon evolved in different conditions."

"Yes."

"For Iwanko, it gains experiences and when the time it evolves it evolved into two different forms from two opposite times of the day. Those times are during either the day time or night. However, there is one thing that's certain. Lucina, your partner didn't abandon you. She will come back stronger."

"Reina…"

They then notice the sun rising just when they hear rustling behind them causing the group to turn at the rustling. They cautiously stare at it until something came out. Out from the bushes is a light brown wolf. It has a white underbelly that extends up around its muzzle and eyes in a mask-like marking. It has pointed ears with dark brown tips and pink insides, big blue eyes, and a triangular, dark brown nose. There are four sharp fangs in its mouth: two in the upper jaw and two in the lower. Large tufts of brown fur extend from the sides of its head; three tufts on each side. A bushy, white mane covers its neck. Four dark brown rocks poke out of its mane, creating a shape similar to a stylized sun. The lower portions of this form's legs are white, and each foot has three dark brown claws. It also has a long, fluffy white tail.

"That…" Reina trails off and gets her Zukan out.

 **"Lugarugan, the Wolf Pokémon. The sharp rocks in its mane can cut like knives. Lycanroc wears its prey down by degrees before finishing them off."**

Lucina notices something about this Pokémon and narrows her eyes at it. "You're… Could it be… Adella?"

The Pokémon stand there staring at Lucina, but it starts waving its tail hearing the name.

"Go." Reina tells the future princess getting her attention. "If you really think that's your partner, then go to her."

Lucina looks at the trainer and moves to Lugarugan before she runs towards it as the Wolf Pokémon runs towards her. As the two gets closer to each other, Lucina immediately hugs the Pokémon as it nuzzles her.

"Ow! Ow! But I'm glad."

Chrom and Robin are glad that their future daughter reunites with her partner Pokémon and Robin turns to Reina.

"Reina, you said that Adella would evolve two different forms. What's the other form that she would evolve to?" She asks.

"I think Kai would answer that." Reina says and turns to the trees. "Isn't that right?"

Out from the foliage, Kai walks out from it.

"I've been found out." He says.

"Kai, you have the other Lugarugan?" Chrom asks.

"That's right. Here I'll show you." Kai takes out a Pokéball and throws it into the air letting it pop open, revealing his Lugarugan but this one is different.

This Lugarugan resembles a slouched, bipedal wolf or werewolf. It has short red fur with white on its lower legs and a white streak that covers its face, underbelly, and tail. It has pointed, button ears with black tips, three large tufts of fur on each side of its face, a triangular black nose, and a mouth full of sharp teeth. While the sclerae, irises, and pupils of its eye are visible, they all glow a pinkish red and no distinctive colors are visible. A mane of fur covers its back and shoulders, sweeping forward over its head to form a crescent moon shape. On either side of its body, just below the shoulders, two small rocks resembling claws poke out of the mane. A single, bigger stone projects out of the front of the mane over its head. Each of this form's paws has three black claws, and it has a stubby tail covered in long fur.

"This is the other Lugarugan?" Robin asks.

"Wow. This one looks scary and cool at the same time." Lissa says.

Then Reina places her Zukan at Kai's Lugarugan and buzzes, **"Lugarugan, the Wolf Pokémon, Midnight Form. It goads its enemies into attacking, withstands the hits, and in return, delivers a headbutt, crushing their bones with its rocky mane."**

Lissa hums in interest as she looks closely at it. "What did you name this guy?"

"Fang." Kai answers.

"But is this one okay?" Robin asks.

"Don't worry." Kai pets his Lugarugan which pleases it. "I also raise this one as an Iwanko properly."

"I see."

"Oh yeah. We should go back to the camp before any more rumors spread." Kai says.

"You're right." Reina agrees.


	24. Flames on the Blue

Chapter 24: Flames on the Blue

After coming back to the camp, Chrom tells the rest of the company about the revelation behind this 'Marth' character which shocks them. Some doubt especially Frederick about Lucina coming from the future, but the future princess shows her proof in the exact place as their infant princess and her Falchion.

Now it's been three days since then as the Shepherds are on a boat heading towards Valm. On the deck, Chrom Lissa, Robin, Lucina, Reina, Meena, and Kai stands there with their partners, except for Kai, as Robin looks out at the sea.

"Ah, take it all in! Breathtaking…" She says. "Somehow our troubles feel a lifetime away out here."

Chrom nods before having a serious expression. "Yet in truth, we're headed straight toward them… I should be grateful the Plegians delivered us this fleet, as promised. But it's my first time on a vessel and my legs… I never fancied myself a sea captain."

"This is my first voyage as well." Lucina smiles.

"As for the three of us, this isn't the first time we got on a ship." Reina says looking at her sister and Kai.

"Yep." Meena confirms.

"I got used to it to travel between islands at Alola region." Kai says and looks at Lucina. "But I'm surprised. I thought you'd had been on a ship before."

Lucina shakes her head as she explains, "In my time, all ships were destroyed. Smashed to pieces, along with their ports."

"Lucina… Something I've been meaning to ask… After you stopped Emm's assassination… Why didn't you stay with us?" Chrom asks.

All eyes are on the woman as she speaks, "I felt I had no choice. I could not risk altering history any more than necessary. I sought only to divert events that directly led to Grima's return."

Lissa jumps up energetically. "Hey, so wait- what about the guys who tried to kill Chrom in the gardens? What would've happened if you didn't save him?"

"He would have been gravely wounded." Lucina answers as she recalls that night. "And those wounds would have played a part in the tragedies to come."

"Whoa! Good thing you changed things, huh?"

"If indeed they have changed…" Lucina answers with a grimace. "The river of time always favors its original course. Take the exalt's death… We stalled it, yes, but in the end, I was not able to prevent it."

After a short silence at the mention of the exalt, Chrom is the first to break it quickly, "…You did what you could."

"I was so certain it was over. That I'd saved the world. But time simply found another way back to its course. Perhaps the task is simply too great… Perhaps if I'd done something differently? I replay events in my head, over and over…"

"Don't. You did your best. And you saved me after all."

Hearing his words, Lucina nods. "You're kind, Father. But nothing is certain… Another could take your life. Time could find a way…"

"…" During another period of silence, the Ylissean prince speaks what was on everybody's mind. "…Do you know how I die?"

Lucina shakes her head sadly. "Only rumors… I was told you fell in a great battle, fought to sway your destiny." She pauses with uncertainty before continuing, "…And that you were murdered- betrayed by someone dear to you."

As if on cue, Robin suddenly holds her head as what seems to be another major headache hits her. They look to her in surprise as Chrom calls out, "Robin? What is it?"

"M-My head… I don't…" Robin stammers in shock before getting back up as the wave of pain begins to fade. "F-Forgive me. I'm fine."

They look at the white-haired woman with silence before the future Ylisse princess continues, "After your murder and Grima's return, I took the name Marth and fought back. I prayed to the Hero-King for a small part of the strength he used to save the world. But I need this subterfuge no longer. I chose to fight as Lucina now. The name that reminds me of the strength in the man and woman who chose it."

"A strength shared by the woman who bears it." Chrom says with a smile.

Suddenly, fast-paced footsteps are heard on the deck as they turn to the source of it and sees Frederick walking over to them with Flavia and the West-Khan just behind.

"The pegasus knights report the Vlamese fleet matches ours, ship for ship." The knight reports.

"Your tone tells me this is not good news." Chrom says with a stern look.

The retainer nods. "Their troops vastly outnumber ours. Our vessels are half-full, at best. But every Valmese ship is packed from stem to stern with soldiers."

"If we attempt to board them in a straight fight, we'll be slaughtered." The Ylissean prince mutters.

"We've little choice but to try anyway." Flavia says with a determined look. "Plegia had no men to spare, but they were generous with supplies… including oil." She then glances at the tactician. "Perhaps a clever tactician could find a use for that."

Robin places a hand on her chin. "Hmm… Perhaps she could."

"If we can put their ships to flame, they'd have nowhere to escape to. We could-"

"You could roast us all like hams!" Basilio exclaims. "Are you truly eager to die, woman?!"

"Do you have a better idea, oaf?!" Flavia snaps back. "…The problem is we have no catapults. Hmm… How to get the lit oil on their deck without our own ships getting caught in the blaze?"

Robin thinks carefully before a smile forms on her face. "Unless we WANT our ships caught in the blaze…"

The West-Khan shakes his head. "Why in the gods' names would… Well, I know better than to question Robin. Especially not when she has the look in her eyes. Gods save us from what she's cooked up this time- Let's not hope it's not us!"

Robin nods with a smile and glances over to the exalt. "Chrom, I have an idea."

"Those words from your mouth are music to my ears, Robin." Chrom grins.

"But, for it to work, we'll need to disrupt their chain of command… Our strongest team would need to board their leader ship and kill their general. As our best captain, I'd have you head the squad, but you ARE the prince, so…"

"Yes, I AM the prince, so no one can order me NOT to go." Chrom says firmly. "I will lead the assault!"

"Then this plan truly stands a chance."

"Heh… So much has changed since we found you that day, lying in the open field…" The captain says with a smile. "Hard to believe you determine the fate of our entire army now… our entire people. Destiny has a strange way."

"…No, Chrom. Not destiny." Robin states as she shakes her head.

"What?" Chrom says in confusion.

"We're not pawns of some scripted fate." The tactician explains with a serious expression. "I believe we're more. Much more."

"How do you mean?"

"There's something between us all. Something that keeps us together… Like… Invisible ties, connecting us. Giving us strength… WE forge these ties. WE strengthen them. If we preserve them or break them, it will be by our choice, not some 'destiny'…"

"…Robin…" Chrom mutters before laughing. "I think this salty air might have gone to your head, hah!"

The white-haired tactician shakes her head with a sigh. "All right, all right- perhaps enough philosophy for one day… There are still details to discuss."

"Indeed there are! And preparations to be made!" The Ylissean prince nods. "Oh, and Robin… If we are all bound by these invisible ties, I thank the gods it's with you."

As Robin grimace and about to speak again, Chrom continues. " Now then, everyone! Look lively! We have work to do!"

* * *

After organizing their supplies and the soldiers, Chrom and Robin lead a group of Shepherds with them as they sail on one of their ships over to three boats, one of them being reported to have the general on them.

By the time their ship barely reach their enemies', the three smaller Valmese ships immediately surround them. With the railings of both ships getting closer, Chrom gives the signal as the teams, that Robin organized beforehand, jumps over the railings and onto the enemy ships before any boards can be placed over it. With Kai at the front lines, Reina stayed behind sniping off the pegasus knights as Meena mounts with Cordelia having the advantage of helping her comrades much faster than before. As for their Pokémon, Kai brings out a large green gecko*, Reina has Éclair protecting her from other enemies, and Meena has her Riolu by her side.

(*It has a somewhat long neck, and it has two crests on its head. It has semicircular, yellow eyes with red rims. Its lower jaw and a belt-like band across its waist are also red. Along with its back, it has two lines running down the middle and two rows of yellow nodules that are described as seeds. Its tail is shaped similar to that of a palm tree's branch. Both of its long arms have two sharp, elongated leaves and three claws.)

After taking out another soldier, Kai glances around the battlefield. Gaius and his Weavile protect Lissa and her Audino from the enemy soldiers as the two healers heal their members while Lon'qu and his Bisharp fight against a heavy armor knight. Chrom, Robin, and their daughter are making their way towards the general.

"Kai! Get down!"

Instinctively, the swordsman did as he is told and hears a sudden cry behind him. He immediately looks back and sees a cavalry soldier falling to the ground with an arrow stuck in his stomach. Kai looks across the deck and sees Reina rushing over to him with Éclair on her shoulder.

"That was a close one." The female archer says with a relief look.

"Thanks, Reina." Kai says with a smile.

Immediately, shouts are heard across the deck.

"The general is down! All men are to board the Valmese ships as planned! Hurry!"

At this, many of the Shepherds finish what they are doing and rush to the large Valmese battle ship's upper deck or stairs leading to it. IT wasn't long before everyone is on board and they can see the enemy fleets in the distance.

Chrom's voice rings across the deck, "All appointed ships, change course! Head right at them! Ramming speed!"

As ordered, the ships' course shifts till they are sailing straight towards the enemy fleet.

"…Gods and thunder! Any second now!" A Ylissean solder shouts.

Chrom watches carefully. "Steady… Steaaady…" As he says this, they start to see a more detail view of the enemy ships.

"W-we're right on top of them!" The man shouts.

"NOW! JUUMP!" Chrom hollers as the soldiers immediately jump over the railing over to their ship. With everyone back on the main vessel, they watch the scene before them.

"The sea itself is on fire!" Lissa shouts in surprise.

"It worked! It worked!" Frederick shouts at the sight.

Flavia chuckles, "Only you could hatch such a brilliant scheme, Robin. Who else would desert half our vessels and turn them into flaming cannonballs? And there was still enough room on the remaining ships for all our troops. It was so simple, and yet the Valmese never saw it coming. They never consider anyone might be willing to sacrifice half a fleet…"

"We may won the day, but the war still looms. We must continue on seize control of their main harbor." Chrom says.

"Aye, boy!" Basilio says. "I've had enough of the smoke and smell here for one lifetime, besides."

"Full speed ahead for Valm!" The captain orders.

"Now then." Reina says and looks at her bow. "I need to fix this."

"Is there something wrong with your bow?" Robin asks.

"The string was slacking a bit causing the arrows I shot earlier were off targeted."

"Really? They were on target to me."

"To you, but to me they were. For instance, when I shot that cavalry earlier, it was off by three centimeters where I intended."

Robin sweat drops at this. "You really are detailed by your shots… But I'm impressed how you see that far when you shot those pegasus knights."

"Thanks but they were about 100 meters away, that's pretty small in my shooting range."

"Small?" Lissa repeats. "Umm Reina, how far is your range?"

The female trainer thinks for a bit and answers, "About 200 meters or so."

"200!? Wow!"

"Most longbows range is about 180 meters. It's amazing how far your range is." Robin says.

"But I'm thinking challenging myself 300 meters." Reina adds. "Anyways, I'll be in my room fixing this." She says and goes towards her room leaving the rest on the deck.

Soon later, Reina is sitting on the floor inspecting the string on the bow.

"I knew it… The bolt was loose after all." She says and Éclair picks up a tool to help her.

"Pika."

"Thank you, Éclair." Reina takes the tool and fixes the bolt on her bow when a few knocks are heard on the door causing her looks up and calls out, "Come in!"

The door opens revealing Meena and Lu in her arm as she enters the room. "Meena? What's wrong?"

"Can we help too?" She asks.

"Hmm… I might not have enough time to check my arrows… Can you check them for me?"

"Okay!"

Meena then sits next to her and reaches to Reina's quiver to take out the arrows while Lu gets off as it greets Éclair and helps its trainer with the arrows. After checking the arrow, Meena rolls it to see if it's round enough and then her eyes look at Reina's ring.

"How long are you going to make him wait?" She asks.

"About what?" Reina asks as she stretches the string.

"Don't play dumb, Reina. Even I know that you prepared something for Kai."

"Isn't that just your imagination?"

"Then care to explain the ring on your finger?"

Reina stops what she is doing and sighs. "I don't think right now is a good time since were about going into war."

"Really? Even though everyone else got married over the past two years?"

"But we're from another world." Reina points out. "That's this world's rules, not ours." She then goes back stretching her bow.

"Okay, okay, I got it. But I still think you should give it to Kai at any time."

"You're saying that because I'm still nervous, right?" Reina asks as she stretches the string more.

"Well, you are, aren't you?"

Reina smiles and lets go of the string making a snap sound on the bow.

Then they hear knocking sounds on the door before it opens to reveal Frederick.

"Reina, Meena, get ready to leave the ship, we will be arriving at Valm Harbor soon and be sure to be on guard for any attacks."

"Okay."

Frederick then leaves the room and Reina stands up.

"Now then, time to pack things up." She says and looks at Meena. "How're the arrows?"

Meena stands up with the bundle of arrows in the quiver. "Perfect. They are all in top shape."

"Good."

* * *

A/N: I hope you're wondering about the pairings for the FE: Awakening characters, I'm going to pair them up when I played the game. (And yes I have played the game before.) For the pairings:  
Lissa and Gaius  
Stahl and Sully  
Lon'qu and Olivia  
Vaike and Maribelle  
Virion and Cherche  
Panne and Libra  
Miriel and Ricken  
Tharja and Henry  
Nowi and Gregor  
Sumia and Frederick  
Cordelia and Donnel (Never tried this pair)


	25. The Girl From the Future

Chapter 25: The Girl From the Future

Just as the ships reach the harbor, the Shepherds jumps down to the shore.

"At last, Valm Harbor." Chrom says as he looks around. "Hmm… It appears well fortified… Prepare the troops. We'll- Huh? What's that?"

Frederick glances in the direction of his charge is looking, "An altercation?" As he says this, a woman with long black hair, in foreign clothing and armor, and wields two swords in her hands rushes out of an ally in the distance holding hands with a little girl wearing a brown cloak and a large bag over her shoulder. "That woman-" The retainer speaks before a group of Valmese soldiers also rush out of the alley behind her, "The Valmese dogs are running her down with the little girl."

Immediately, Chrom turns to them. "Any enemy of theirs is a friend of ours. Come on!"

With that, he, Frederick, and Robin run off to the port town with the other Shepherds behind the three.

* * *

She has been running for a long while now street after street, alley after alley. Even after finding a lost child on a lone street, she has been unable to shake off her pursuers. With her small group of resistance taken out by the Valm soldiers immediately after their last attack on another smaller camp, she was the last of their small detached group and, unlike in the past, her pursuers are more persistent in catching her. It wasn't until she got to the harbor, where she met the girl, that she can see more soldiers pursuing after her.

"Look, miss! At the shore!" The girl says pointing at the direction letting the swordswoman to look as she sees another squad of soldiers on the shores of the harbor she was at rushing over to them while taking out some of her enemies.

Squinting her eyes to get a better look, she mutters, "Who is that?" Then she notices a blue-haired warrior taking down enemies one after another alongside with another blue-haired swordswoman. "…The Ylissean League! So they have finally landed!"

"Then over there…" The girl says.

Almost immediately after black-haired swordswoman said this, a voice cries out, "Over 'ere! We have 'er cornered!"

"Confound these wretched imperials!" The woman mumbles angrily under her breath while she lifts her blades again as she begins to flee with the girl.

"Don't let 're get away!"

With the help of their Pokémon partners, the flow of the battle quickly becomes in their favor along with Reina's and Kai's Pokémon. Both of them quickly gotten out Kuro from Reina and from Kai is a Pokémon with a sleek black body with four slender legs and crimson eyes. There are two pairs of pointed teeth visible when its mouth is open, one in the upper jaw and one in the lower. It has long pointed ears and a bushy tail, each with a yellow band around them. Its forehead and legs have yellow rings on them (Blacky – Umbreon). After defeating a few soldiers on the way, Chrom and Luke dealt with the two soldiers who were cornering the swordswoman and the girl.

"Prince Chrom of Ylissean League! You have my gratitude!" The woman exclaims with relief.

At this, The Ylissean prince raises his brow. "You know of our cause?"

"Of course!" The woman says as a matter of fact. "I would speak with you more- but first, perhaps…" She trails off.

"…Ah, yes. Time enough for that once the fighting is finished."

"Umm…" The girl speaks getting the prince's attention.

"We can talk later, little one. Right now, we need to free this port. Understand?"

The girl slowly nods and Chrom smiles at this before he and Luke go back into the battle. She then slowly looks around the battlefield and finds a pair as one of them sniping down an enemy mount soldier with another swinging down another as a Pikachu, Absol, and Blacky protects them. They are the ones who she is looking for after coming into the town as the girl watches them closely.

"That's Reina and Kai…" She mutters.

Eventually, after defeating most of the soldiers, all that is left is the enemy leader of this squad. Both Chrom and Robin reach to him with their partners starting the battle with Robin sending an Elthunder and Drago a Dragon Pulse. Then both Chrom and Luke run towards the leader with Luke distracts the rider by sending a few Psycho Cuts while the Ylissean prince finishes him off.

After the storm of the battle passes, the Shepherds take this chance to rest from before and the voyage as Say'ri speaks to Chrom.

"Mercy, friends! The tales of your strength were no exaggeration… I am called Say'ri, and I fight with the Resistance."

"So there is an organized resistance?" Chrom asks.

"Aye, of sorts. Several groups formed to seek liberty for the states of Valm."

"I thought the emperor had stamped out all dissenters…"

Say'ri nods. "He tries, but we Resistance are a slippery lot. We strike hard and then vanish again into the dark of night. Even now rebels ride to the banner of dynast across the continent. United, we could pose a veritable threat to Walhart. And so, for some time I have struggled to bring us together."

"What's stopping you?" Flavia asks as she and the West-Khan walk over to the small group.

At this, the woman grimaces, "Greed. Jealousy. Sloth. All the old weaknesses of man. The dynasts all would have freedom but on their own terms. Some refuse t take up arms unless their territory is threatened. Other thrive under the Conqueror's heel and will not join unless there is profit in it. Liberty is a fine word, aye, but not always enough to rouse men from foolishness."

"I take it you're looking for a more convincing argument, then?"

"Just so, although my efforts thus far have met with meager success. I fear many distrust me because my brother fights for Walhart."

"Why does he support the empire?" Basilio questions with confusion.

"Would I knew, good sir." Say'ri answers with apparent anger glinting in her eyes. "Yen'fay was a good man once, but he is my brother no more! If we meet on the battlefield, I would cut him down, same as any other imperial. Walhart is said to command a million men now. Perhaps more. Sooner or later, he will stamp out the Resistance entirely, if we do not unite."

"Um, Chrom? Did she just say he has a MILLION soldiers?" Lissa asks anxiously.

"Ha! And what are one million men against the Ylissean dogs of war?!" The swordswoman says, "You stopped a thousand of their ships to get to this continent, did you not? Your daring strategy has awoken and inspired people across all of Valm. Together I know we can yet unite the Resistance and break Walhart's grip!" Say'ri then bows her head. "Help me, Prince Chrom! I beg of you!"

"'Daring strategy' she said." Reina whispers to Robin causing the tactician to blush a little.

The Ylissean retainer turns to his charge as did the others. "Milord?"

"This is no easy thing you ask of me." Chrom says. "I have my own causes: A halidom to save and a future to win." As he said this, he takes a quick side glance to his future daughter before looking back at the woman. "I know a great battle has been foretold but is this it? How to know? Still, I admire your courage… Perhaps your mission is the best way to achieve mine. So yes, Say'ri. I will join your cause with my own."

"If it isn't?" Kai asks.

Without hesitation, the captain answers, "And if I'm wrong, it's my life on the line. …As it should be." Chrom then glances at Say'ri. "Now. What will it take to unite your people?"

"Well, I do have one idea…" The woman says with a nod.

"Chrom." The group turns and sees Robin. "Sorry to interrupt the conversation, but we just arrived on a new continent and fought a battle. I think it would be best if the Shepherds rest for the time being. We also have another problem to take care of as well…"

The Ylissean prince nods. "You're right, Robin. We should try setting up camp for the time being."

"Then come with me. I'll show you all a place to camp just on the outskirts of the town. The Resistance stationed here will take care of this place." Say'ri says.

Chrom nods. "I appreciate your help, Say'ri."

* * *

It is late in the afternoon when they finally finished setting up camp. Then they decided that it would be best to have Say'ri temporarily join the Shepherds till she is able to regain control of her kingdom after taking down both Walhart and her brother. Now Say'ri is discussing with Chrom and Robin about her plan uniting the Resistance.

"Since ancient times, many of our people have worshipped Naga." She explains. "More precisely, we worship the divine dragon's oracle, Lady Tiki. Though most know her only as the Voice. The voice is trapped in her temple as Walhart's prisoner. But if she were freed…"

"The Resistance could unite around her. Where is the voice being held?" Robin asks.

"There is a shrine built in the branches of the divine Mila Tree. She is confined there."

"Then we have our plan. Let's got to it!" Chrom exclaims.

Meanwhile, Reina is looking for Kai throughout the camp and finds him practicing his swinging.

"Kai." The said person stops the swing and turns to see Reina standing behind him.

"Reina."

"Looks like you're working hard again today." The female archer states as she walks towards him.

"Yeah." Kai replies. "Did you came here for the Shepherds' training schedule?"

"Mmm… That's not it." Reina replies.

"Huh?"

Reina then hops in closer to Kai and presents something to him. "Here."

Kai takes a look at the item and sees a charm that resembles the water lily on the hilt of his sword. "Reina, this is…"

"I thought that the charm I gave you that time might be getting old, so here's a new one."

"Reina…" Kai looks at her before taking the charm.

"Also, it's a 'thank you' gift for the ring."

Kai looks down at the charm then back at the female trainer and smiles. "Thank you, Reina. I'll treasure it."

"Ah!" The two turn to see the same girl who was with Say'ri back at the town pointing at them. "I found you!" She then runs up to them and jumps into Reina and Kai. "Papa! Mama!"

"…Eh?" Reina says.

"Eh?" Kai follows.

"E–H?!" Reina and Kai shout.

"Papa?!" Kai shouts.

"Mama?!" Reina shouts.

"Yes!" The girl confirms.

Taking a closer look at the girl, she has brown hair that reaching on her mid-back, wears a pink dress that reaches to her knees with black leggings and red sneakers. She carries a large bag on her back.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but me and Reina didn't get married." Kai tells the girl.

"But just now, Mama gave you a new charm just now as a 'thank you' gift for the ring you gave her."

"How do you know that?!"

"Because…" She digs into her shirt and takes out a ring that is tied to a leathered string around her neck but what is more surprising is the mark similar to Sakura's. "This is the right that you gave to Mama, right, Papa?"

Kai takes a look at the ring. "This is definitely the ring that I gave to Sakura. What do you think." When he turns to her, he sees Sakura's face is reddened with spirals as her eyes.

"Mine… and Kai's child… But that means that we actually…!" Soon after she said that smoke coming off from her ears before she faints and collapses.

"Hey, Sakura!" Kai catches her having her head hanging upside down.

"Mama!"

~Later~

Kai brings the fainted Sakura and the girl into a tent where Chrom and Robin are talking plans for their next step, then the male trainer explains what happened to Sakura as she regains her consciousness. Then Chrom asks the girl who she is and why she came to this world and from the future.

"I see." Reina says looking at the girl. "You're name is Asuna and Arceus came to you warning that our lives are in danger?"

"That's right, Mama." Asuna replies.

"'Mama' huh?"

"I'm sorry, I know that you are the past Mama, but…"

"It's fine. You can call me that if it's easier for you."

Asuna looks at Reina and smiles before jumping into her arms.

"Still what is this Arceus that those two are talking about?" Chrom asks.

"Arceus is one of the legendary Pokémon that said that it created a region and possibly our universe." Kai answers.

"Could it be one of the Pokémon that Reina told us before?" Robin asks.

"If she said that, then it's true, but that's what the experts speculate."

Just then Asuna's bag begins to shake causing eyes to look at it.

"Asuna, is there something in your bag?" Reina asks.

"Um… That's, well…"

Suddenly the zipper on the bag undo itself and a small Pokémon pops out. Its body resembles a nebula and has two wisp-like extensions and an ellipse running down its body. Its front and back are black in color. It has yellow eyes and two blue cheeks.

"Nebby! I thought I told you not to come out!" Asuna scolds the Pokémon.

"What kind of Pokémon is that?" Robin questions.

"Reina, Kai, do you two know?" Chrom asks.

"I don't know. I never saw this Pokémon in the Hoenn Region." Reina replies.

"But… I feel like I saw this Pokémon somewhere…" Kai trails off trying to remember where he had seen the small Pokémon.

"Umm…"Asuna speaks as she holds Nebby in her arms. "Nebby is a Pokémon that Solgaleo and Lunala created."

"Solgaleo and Lunala did?" Chrom repeats.

"So is Nebby its name?" Reina asks.

"Uh-uh, Nebby is a nickname. This Pokémon's name is Cosmog." The girl says.

"Gog!" Nebby says.

"AH! I remember now!" Kai shouts surprising Reina, Chrom, and Robin. "Cosmog is the only Pokémon that can evolve into either Solgaleo or Lunala."

"You mean Solgaleo and Lunala were this Pokémon?" Chrom questions and Kai nods.

"It's amazing that this small Pokémon can turn into something magnificent like Solgaleo and Lunala." Robin says as she pets Cosmog.

"Anyways, you two should bring Asuna to your tent and explain Meena about her. You three need all the rest for the march tomorrow." Chrom tells them.

"Alright." Reina replies and turns to Asuna. "Let's go, Asuna. You're going to sleep with us."

"Okay!" Asuna replies cheerfully.


	26. Scion of Legend

Chapter 26: Scion of Legend

After morning comes the next day, the company begins their march towards where Mila Tree is with Say'ri as their guide.

"Can we have a break? We've been walking for hours!" Lissa exclaims.

"You're right. But we have to be careful at our surroundings. Who knows where the enemy might strike." Chrom says.

"Got it~!" The princess replies happily that she can stop walking for the moment.

"Then in that case…" Reina trails off as she takes out her four Poké balls. "Come one out!" She tosses them into the air.

"Me too." Kai also taking out his five Poké balls and tosses them.

Out from the Sakura's Poké balls, is Flamma, Kuro, Cait, and Mizu. As for Kai's is his Jukain, Fuko, Blacky, Alolan Sandpan, and Fang.

"Everyone, we're going to have a break." Reina tells their Pokémon and they all cheer out.

Before they knew it, some of their Pokémon are sleeping in the shade of the trees (Sceptile, Fang, Kuro, and Cait) and the rest are playing with Asuna as she chases after them.

Then Lissa sits next to Lucina as she asks, "Say, Lucina? I'm still around in your future, right? So, um… What am I like?"

"Well… You're warm and kind, for starters. Even amid the darkness and desolation. Your smile serves as a beacon of hope for all those around you." The future princess says.

At her words, the Ylissean princess smiles with excitement. "Oh, geez! I'd better get cracking if I want to live up to that. Oh! I know! Do I have children?"

"You have a son named Owain." Lucina answers.

"Aw, cute!" Lissa says with a smile. "What's he like?"

Surprisingly, Lucina becomes hesitant as she answers nervously. "He's… Well, he's quite colorful."

"Hmm… I'm not sure I want to know what that means. Oh! Wait! One more thing! Does he have…" Instead of finishing her sentence, she remains quiet.

"Yes?" Lucina asks in confusion.

However, the princess shakes her head. "No… Never mind."

"Are you sure?"

"Sorry, I just remembered I promised to help Chrom with something." Lissa suddenly speaks. "…Bye!"

"Lissa?" Lucina calls out as she watches the lady rush off.

"It can't be helped." Lucina turns to see Reina walking towards her with Éclair on her shoulder. "The way she was acting just now."

"What do you mean?"

"Lissa has this complex that only Chrom and Emmeryn knows." Reina says. "Can you imagine that you don't have one thing that the rest of the family does?"

"That's…"

Suddenly, a scream cries out not too far from them.

"A scream?!" Reina shouts and turns to Lucina. "Lucina! Go tell Chrom what happens while me and Kai get our Pokémon."

"Yes!"

* * *

-Elsewhere-

"This is it, boss! That treasure's here; I'm sure of it!" A ruffian tells his leader.

"All right, woman. Speak! Where'd you put it?" The leader, Gecko questions.

"I've never heard of no treasures here! Honest, I haven't!" A village woman replies.

Meanwhile, the Shepherds reach a village, they can already see a band of Ruffians lead by one thin man holding a short sword in his hand.

"Oh? Then I guess we're done here. She's useless, boys. Kill her."

"Aye, boss!" An ax-wielding man speaks out and walks up to her as he slowly raises his ax.

Immediately, Reina gets an arrow ready as fast as she can.

"Halt, fiends!" There stands a young man in clothing similar to that of a Myrmidon, like Lon'qu, and holds a steel blade on one hand. His hair is similar to that of a certain sweet loving thief.

"The devil are you?!" The ruffian shouts in shock of the man's possible stupidity.

"One chosen by forces beyond mortal comprehension! See how my sword hand twitches! It hungers… for justice! Leave now if you value life and limb for I cannot stay the hungry hand!"

"This guy's got rocks in his head…" The man says with a look of bewilderment before shaking his head and begins walking over to the swordsman's direction. "All right then, buy. Guess you're the first to-"

However before anyone can move from their position, the man swiftly cuts down the ruffian mid-sentence much to their surprise. The swordsman wears a triumphant smirk and glances to the dead man. "I tried to warn you, foul villain. The hand cannot be denied!"

"Oh, thank the stars! You're saved my life!" The woman thanks the swordsman.

"Wait," Chrom speaks quietly. "That stance…"

"Wh-whoa are you?!" The leader shouts in shock.

As the man readies his blade, he says, "I am the wolf who howls for justice! The eagle who cries for love! A chosen warrior come from the future to bring hope the dying world… I am Owain! Now, atone for your deeds in the eternal hellfire of perdition! RADIANT… DAAAAAAWN!"

However, as a slight breeze blows through, nothing happens. "Blast you, sword hand!" The man shouts. "Now's no time for games! You've escaped fate this time, rogue but remember- justice always prevails!"

As an awkward silence settles on all of them, Lissa finally speaks, "Wow, that guy's really weird. …Wait a second."

The bandit leader laughs. "I KNEW there were rocks in your head! Look lively, boys! Ignore the dolt and find us that treasure! Pinch everything that shines and make for the hills!"

"Not today ne'er-do-wells! The legendary blade Mystletainn is fated for my twitching hand alone!"

Lucina lets out a sigh of relief till she sees the man running after them and then she quickly glances to Chrom. "Father I'll be going on ahead."

As she said this, she quietly rushes after the man through the woods. Chrom shakes his head. "I am so lost right now. What is he even talking about? …Never mind. Let's just kill the bandits, and I'm sure everything will sort itself out."

With that, the Ylissean Prince gives a quick gesture and calls out to the other Shepherds as they began charging out into the open.

Just as the swordsman taking down a ruffian, Lissa quickly runs to him.

"Oh, hey! It's you. Thanks for helping-"

"MOM?!" The swordsman interrupts Lissa.

"Hu-what?"

"Blessed Mother! I have crossed oceans of time to find- Oh forget it. I'm your kid from the future! Look at the signet ring upon my finger. Behold, a perfect match to yours! Unique in all the word, and yet here lie two. Proof positive my claims are true!"

"…Who did what now? Hold on. Slow down. Back up. Start again."

"Um… Sorry about that. Look, the important thing here is that I'm-"

"…Oh, gods. Owain." Lissa calls out.

"Huh?"

"That's your name isn't it?"

"Indeed it is! And none have ever been prouder to bear it! For it is the name you gave me, Mother! I've come to part the dark clouds that hang forebodingly over this era!"

Hearing this speech causes Reina to sweatdrop looking at the two with an arrow in her hands. "Looks like Lissa has a… devoted son…" She mutters.

she suddenly feels someone grabbing her causing the trainer to scream out getting the other Shepherd's attention seeing Gecko holding her in a choke hold and his short sword pointing at her neck.

"Nobody move!" He orders. "Let us escape and I'll let go of this woman or else…" The leader presses the blade against Reina's neck letting out a thin line of blood. "So what are you going to do?"

"Hey!" Kai calls out. "If I were you, I would let go of her."

"Huh?"

Just then, Reina stomps on Gecko's foot which his face shows in pain and she dives down when his grip weakens and then she delivers a knee into the stomach following up with a roundhouse kick. Seeing the leader knock out on the ground, she lets out a sigh of relief with a hand on her chest.

"That surprised me." Reina says.

"That surprised us when you pulled off those tricks!" Chrom exclaims.

* * *

~Later~

With the leader being roped and the Shepherds finishing off the rest of the bandits, Asuna pokes her head out of the tent of the wagon and sees both Reina and Kai walking over to her.

"Papa! Mama!" She immediately jumps out of the wagon and rushes over letting Reina picking her up.

"Were you being a good girl staying here?" Kai asks.

"Yeah!"

"By the way, did Lissa came back? She said that she'd be coming back." Reina asks.

Asuna shakes her head. "No. She didn't."

Upon hearing this, Reina's eyes widen in shock. "Don't tell me!"

"What's wrong?"

They turn to the wagon and see the blue-haired future princess poking out of the wagon's tent.

"Lucina, have you see Lissa?" The archer asks.

The woman tilts her head. "I have not too long ago. She asked me if I've seen Owain, then rushed off."

"I thought so." Reina quickly puts Asuna down and holds her shoulder. "Asuna, stay here with Lucina."

"Okay." The girl nods.

* * *

In the woods, the princess is stumbling through roots as she looks around desperately looking for something. It wasn't long before she finally stops her tracks and sighs with frustration. "Where did he get off to? Lucina said she saw him go this way." As she said this, she frowns in a moment of silence before finally speaks, "Ugh, maybe I should just forget it. If he doesn't have one, either…"

"Lissa! Get down!"

"Huh?" She cries out in shock.

Instinctively, the woman ducks as an arrow whizzed past her head as a cry of pain rings out from behind her. She turns around and sees an arrow sticking out of the shoulder of an ax-wielding ruffian. "AAAH!"

The man, however, yanks that arrow out as he grins. "Keh heh! Let's make this quick. Hand me all your coin, girly! Unless you wanna lose that pretty head."

"S-stay back!" The princess shouts as she waves her staff around.

"Thunderbolt/Dark Pulse!" Out of nowhere, an electric blast and purple energy lands in front her startling the man as he jumps back in shock.

"Who 're you?!"

Upon seeing the attack, she turns around and sees Reina and Kai with Éclair and Blacky rushing over to her. As they stand in between her and the man, Reina asks, "Lisa, are you all right?!"

The healer nods with a look of surprise. "Y-yeah."

"No one hurts the mother of Owain!"

They glance to the owner of the voice and sees Owain dashing up to the ruffian from the side with an unusual silver blade in hand as he cries out. "SACRED… STOOOONES!"

As the ax-wielding ruffian falls to the ground motionless, the man quickly rushes over to the princess. "Mother, are you all right?!"

She nods in relief with the enemy gone. "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm… Holy crow! Your arm!"

"This? Hah! It's not but a torn sleeve." She swordsman says as he laughs it off.

"He's fine, Lissa." Kai reassures her.

"…No, I mean, HOLY CROW, LOOK AT THAT THING ON YOUR ARM!" The princess clarifies still in shock.

As they glance at his arm, they can see a circular symbol on it like a birthmark of some sort.

"Oh, right! Sorry. Guess I should have shown you before." The man says with a grin. "It's my brand. The one carried by House of Ylisse. So no more need to worry, eh?"

"Worry?" Kai repeats.

Lissa however, is too focused on her son to hear the male trainer. "Th-then you know? That I don't…"

"That your Brand never surfaced?" Owain finishes with a grin. "Yes, you told me as much." He then has a look of concern as he continues. "You said it always weighed on you… You should have seen how happy you were the day mine appeared!" He laughs lightly and says with a smile, "You were sobbing and laughing for an hour without pause!"

Lissa smiles in embarrassment. "I was kind of hoping to grow out of the crying thing…"

"Yes, well. No more worrying. It was by chance alone your Brand never surfaced. We're all family, linked by blood. You really are Chrom's sister. My Brand proves our lineage."

As he said this, tears begin to well up in Lissa's eyes. "Thank you. Just… Thank you, Owain."

"You're welcome!" The man says with a chuckle before glancing over at the bystanders. "Also, thank you for saying my mother. I assume you're also part of the Shepherds?"

"Yeah. I'm Reina, this is my partner Éclair."

"Pikachu!"

"I'm Kai and this is Blacky."

"Blacky."

"Hmm. So these are the magical creatures that have been appearing throughout the land. In fact, one of them has been following me lately." On cue, rusting is heard behind him as the sound of rustling comes closer.

Out from the bushes is a blue, penguin-like Pokémon. It is mostly dark blue with light blue facial markings, wing tips, and lower body. Its eyes are blue and it has a short yellow beak with a small point above it. Two large, yellow ridges extend from its beak over the back of its head and meet just above the nape of its neck. On its body are four large, white spots that resemble buttons. Instead of arms, it has long, flipper-like wings that are capable of knocking over and snapping trees. It has short legs with yellow, three-toed feet.

"Prinplup!" Reina exclaims pointing her Zukan at the Pokémon.

 **"Pottaishi, the Penguin Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pochama. One blow from its wings is strong enough to knock down trees."**

"Taishi." The Pokémon speaks.

"How did you find this Pokémon?"

"Find is a different word than I described." Owain replies. "By the time I knew it, this guy was following me."

"By the sounds of it, Pottaishi chose to be with you." Reina states.

"Be with me?"

"It means that Pottaishi chose you as its trainer. You should be honored."

"Plus, in our world, Piplup are hard to find in the wild." Kai adds.

"Then I should be grateful that this fabulous Pokémon chose me! As scions of the hero, it falls on us to ensure my dark future doesn't come true. Come, Mother! Astro! We shall fight together!" Owain exclaims.

"Pota!"

"Uh-oh… Argh… Too much… passion! Sword hand… getting hungry… again!"

As she wipes away her tears, Lissa looks on with a mix of confusion and concern. "You know, maybe you should have that looked at."


	27. Man with Flowers

Chapter 27: Man with Flowers

The next day came when the army sets out once more for the large tree where the Voice resides. As they continue to walk up the tall mountains, Robin is climbing up the steep trails following by Reina, Kai, and Meena. Finally, she comes to a stop as she tries to catch her breath. "Why do mountains… have to… be so steep?"

The female archer stops as well with beads of sweat trailing from his forehead. "I agree… Even… some of the mountains… back in Hoenn aren't this steep…"

"Yeah… I don't want… to sound like Lissa, but… when do you think… we can… take a break?" Meena says as she wipes the sweat off his cheeks.

"Just… where does Chrom even… get this much stamina?" Kai speaks as he glances around the rocky trail.

"Here. Have some water."

The four look up and sees the pink-haired dancer handing out containers of water to them. As Robin receives it, she nods her head in appreciation. "Thank you, Olivia. You're a lifesaver."

"Oh, hardly. I just flail around and pretend to dance, mostly." The dancer says with a smile.

"That's not true! Your dance is really beautiful." Reina tells her.

"That's right, Olivia." Meena agrees.

"After seeing your dancing, I feel energetic." Kai adds.

Robin nods with a smile. "Also, your dancing is spectacular! It never fails to pick me up."

"Ha! I dance like ham someone rolled down the stairs. Just thinking of people watching me makes me cringe…" The shy dancer says.

"Everyone, gather around!" Chrom shouts.

"Is there something going on, Chrom?" Robin asks.

As the captain nods, he says, "We received word from a nearby village of a bandit's camp not too far from here. They've also ravaged surrounding towns in the area with impunity for too long. It ends today."

The tactician nods. "Right."

* * *

"Not today, rogue!"

A young man with short black hair and blue clothing and armor shouts as he gracefully cuts down a brigand with his blade. When the bandit shows no signs of getting back up, he turns around and grins to the crying young woman. "All safe now, buttercup."

"When the lady looks up, her eyes widen in shock. "I-Inigo?!"

"The crying part is over love. Now give us a smile." The man, Inigo, says before displaying a carefree smile on his face. "And perhaps a wink if a fellow can be greedy?"

Despite his words, the woman only grew more worried as she shouts, "Inigo, you stupid fool! The bandit you slew has-"

"Dozens of friends who will terribly cross with me? Aye." The man finishes with a smile. "Worry not! I'll mop up the lot of them and be back in time for tea."

"You mustn't! They'll kill you!"

The man laughs. "Don't be silly. I'd never let anyone ruin this perfect face. Surely you want them gone as well, yes? So that you may rebuild in peace?"

"Of course, but…"

"Then let us have no more frowns! A smile like yours is not a treasure to be locked in the king's dungeons! I'll meet you in town once I've sorted those pesky bandits. Perhaps then we can discuss my… reward. Ho ho!"

Unaware of his surroundings smalls eyes peaks from the trees staring at Inigo with stars floating around them.

* * *

They've been walking for almost an hour and a half before they finally arrived what looks to be a large fort of some sort.

"Their hold is just ahead. It should be…" Chrom trails off before he spots a figure dashing up to it. "Wait, what's that?" His eyes then widen in shock as he watches the figure clashes against a nearby bandit. "Gods, that man is fighting them alone. Come, let's lend a hand!"

At this, Robin begins to weave another new tactic that they hope would succeed before the young man meets his demise but, as they did so, something catches the corner of Chrom's eye.

"More bandits?" The exalt questions with a look of great concern for the young man.

As she follows his gaze, Reina cries out in surprise. "No! That's Kireihana!"

Fighting against the bandits is a green Pokémon with circular blue eyes and red markings on its cheeks. It has two bright red flowers on its head and green and yellow leaves around its waist that resemble a skirt. Kireihana spins around releasing glowing green leaves from its boy at the bandits.

"By the looks of it, we don't have to worry." Reina says.

"Aye."

After cutting down a bandit, he pants heavily, "Hah… hah… It looks like I bite off more than I can chew…"

Inigo then feels someone is behind him which he instantly turns around and jumps back barely missing the blade of the bandit by a couple of inches. As he hears the man clicks his tongue, the mercenary raises his weapon once more only to see the brigand to cry out in pain before collapses. This surprises Inigo as he sees several leaves lands on the bandit's back before looking up to see Kireihana smiling at him.

"We're you the one saved me just now?" He asks.

"Bana!" The Flower Pokémon nods.

"As thanks, maybe we should have tea together?" Inigo asks which Kireihana smiles even more with sparkles appearing everywhere around her.

"Um, are… Are you all right?" A voice asks behind him causing the mercenary to scream out in surprise as he turns around seeing the pink-haired dancer also screams out. "Wh-what's wrong?!"

"S-sorry! …Sorry. You just surprised me." Inigo apologizes.

"I'd say we're even on that count!"

"I shouldn't have shouted, but… Er, yes. Can we please start over?" He asks and clears his throat. "It was your ravishing beauty that caught me so off guard, milady!"

"I don't quite know how to reply that."

"Er, please don't look at me so…intently. It makes me terribly bashful." Inigo then runs away from the dancer along with Kireihana following behind him.

"What?! Wait! Don't go! Drat, he's gone. He totally stole my like, too. Still, it's weird. I didn't have a problem talking to him… May his shyness counters my own?" Olivia wonders.

* * *

Despite the tactician's concern in fighting within small spaces, they are able to take out the bandit's leader and clean out the stronghold of any remaining bandits within a few hours. Now the Shepherds are resting for the day at the fort while Inigo is looking for someone and sees Olivia.

"Um… Olivia? Might I have a moment?" Inigo asks.

Hearing a voice next to her, she spins around in bewilderment as she sees the young black-haired mercenary. "W-what? With me? Why?! …Wait, how did you know my name?"

"A little bird tweeted it out. So is that a yes?"

Slowly, Olivia nods her head. "Um, all right, I guess."

Almost immediately, the man begins to look uncertain as he hesitates. "…Er, yes. You see… What I mean to say is…" Finally, Inigo shakes his head. "Goodness, this is much harder than chatting up other girls I've met. I suppose it would be quickest just to show you this."

"M-my ring? But… I'm wearing it!" Olivia exclaims in shock. "How did you…?"

The man wears a big smile. "Indeed. How does Inigo have your ring when there is only one in all the world? Unless it IS your right and I brought it back from the future!"

"What?" The woman says in surprise. "You mean, like Lucina…?"

"Exactly. I knew my mother was a dancer, you see. So I've been scouring the land looking for all the dancers I could find. Not the worst job in the world, mind. Heh heh heh… But now I've finally found you, Mother! And my dancing is all the better for it!"

Hearing his words, the pink-haired dancer looks up in surprise. "Oh! You dance?"

"Er sort of, yes. That is to say, I tried my best." The man says with a bashful smile. "But some people don't appreciate male dancers. Not that I care! I'm content just shaking my hips for the ladies."

Olivia giggles. "Oh, don't listen to them! I think it's wonderful. I'd… love to see you dance sometime."

Almost immediately, the man's face grew red as he exclaims in shock. "N-no! Impossible! I'd be far too embarrassed for that! Besides, I'd rather watch you dance."

Upon his words, the dancer begins to blush as well. "What?! N-No! I couldn't possibly!"

"I'm shyer than you are, Mother!" The man argues back desperately.

"You are not!"

Neither side responds nor continues to speak as they both look away timidly. Then a sigh is heard followed by a voice. "Would you two stop it already? Now I'm the one who's getting embarrassed…"

They turn around and sees Chrom walking up to them followed by Reina and Kireihana.

"Chrom?!" Inigo exclaims in surprise. "Uh… How much of that did you hear?"

The exalt lets out a sigh. "Starting from who should see who dance probably."

"Bana." Kireihana nods.

"You're still around?" Inigo asks. "But I don't know what kind of creature you are."

"They're the magical creatures called Pokémon that are appearing our world, Inigo." Olivia explains.

"Ah, the rumored magical creatures." the mercenary looks at the green Pokémon. "What kind of name do you have?"

"I think this will help." Reina points her Zukan at the Pokémon.

 **"Kireihana** **, the Flower Pokémon. When these Pokémon move, their delicate petals rub together, creating a pleasant sound. They are also known for their unique acrobatic dancing abilities."**

"But why did she appear before me?" Inigo wonders.

"I think that Bellossom wants to be with you, right?" Reina asks the Flower Pokémon causing it to nod her head.

"Then if you're determined then I will gladly accept, Bella."

~Later~

Inigo is now sitting with a cup of tea in his hand with Bella.

"At last, teatime has arrived!" Inigo says about to drink the tea.

"We're leaving, Inigo." Chrom interrupts.

"What, right now? B-but…teatime!"

"War is hell, Inigo. Now come with us or be left behind."

"Fine, fine! I'm coming. …I suppose there'll be more buttercups blooming along the road ahead.


	28. Twin Wyverns

Chapter 28: Twin Wyverns

The Shepherds resume their march towards Mila Tree as Chrom sends scouts if the enemies are near them. After that Cherche's wyvern, Minerva lifts its head in the air sniffing it before giving a soft whine and brings it back down causing its rider to turn her head with a smile on her face as she pets the large creature. Seeing this, Robin speaks, "Is there something wrong with Minerva, Cherche?"

"Nothing is wrong. It seems that Minerva is excited like an excited child because of the direction we are heading." Cherche says.

Chrom raises a brow in surprise before looking to his retainer. "Frederick, where does this road lead?"

"To Wyvern Valley, milord." The knight answers immediately. "Home to Valm's greatest feral wyvern population.

"That sounds… interesting." The exalt says hesitantly as he glances to the woman's wyvern. "We'll have to be sure and keep our distance, regardless."

With a slight look of disappointment, Cherche smiles nonetheless. "Shame. My Minerva's fit to burst. She's excited other of her kind are near as well. She was raised there before I found her orphaned as a very young wyvern, after all."

Unable to understand the creatures, Chrom raises a brow and notes, "Oh? She doesn't look that excited to me. Not that I can really tell the difference…"

Hearing this, the pink-haired soldier continues to smile. "Oh, it's easy. My Minerva just looks even cuter than normal. Don't you girl? Don't you look cuter? Who's a goooood wyvern?!"

As the rider begins to dote on her wyvern, Chrom frowns awkwardly as he begins to walk off. "I'll, uh… leave you to her, then."

Then the sounds of wings flapping through the sky can be heard as they look up and sees Cordelia.

"Prince Chrom! I spotted a group of brigands attacking villagers at the canyon!" The red-haired pegasus knight reports quickly with worry.

It wasn't long after the report is given did the exalt orders his Shepherds following the red-haired knight. Once there, the tactician didn't waste any time issuing orders and directions to the group. Robin quickly split the group into squads and sends one of them ahead with Chrom while the female tactician decides across another bridge to where the nearby villagers are.

Cherche then spots a man with a wyvern next to him deciding that he's one of the villagers, she takes off to him. But as she comes closer, the man doesn't seem to be one of the villagers as he wears black armor with a black mask.

"Wait. You're not one of the villagers." Cherche says.

"No. …I am Gerome. A traveler."

"And a fellow wyvern, I see. This is a piece of good news!" Cherche speaks with a smile. "We fight to keep those villagers alive. May I ask why you won't aid us?"

"Why? No man can stop fate." The man reasons bluntly.

"These people will be killed by spears, traveler. Not fate."

"Heh. Spoken like one who hasn't yet to witness fate's impossible implacable cruelty." The man responds with an unconvinced tone.

"So you do nothing, then, save wondering the land in a fog of cowardice?" The pink-haired knight says before glancing to his wyvern. "And your wyvern? Has she seen enough? Does she also yearn to surrender?"

Surprisingly the man remains silent before finally responding. "You would know better than I."

Hearing his words, she tilts her head in confusion. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing." Gerome answers bluntly. "I'll fight if you wish it. Death will always have its due, but perhaps it will accept a few substitutions."

"Thank you, Gerome." Cherche says with a smile of gratitude.

He then turns around and whispers to the wyvern. "Come, my dear Minerva. Join me on one final fight…"

With that, the two riders mount their wyverns before they take off into the sky once more.

Meanwhile, Reina and Éclair are having no trouble dealing with the brigand from a plot of land across from the two while Kai and his Umbreon guard them against the oncoming enemies.

"These guys are like cockroaches!" Kai exclaims as he slashes a soldier while Blacky hits the other with Iron Tail and a Shadow Ball at another.

"The only way to stop them is to beat the leader, so don't complain!" Reina shouts letting an arrow fly towards a soldier on another plot of land.

"Now's not the time to fight each other!" Robin tells the two.

"We're not fighting!" Reina and Kai retort at the tactician simultaneously as they also take down the soldiers.

"Those two sure are scary when they do that." Donnel says.

"Chao…" Quin agrees.

"It shows that they get really well." Cordelia says as her pegasus lands next to him. "Now let's get rid of these brigands."

Not long after securing two more plots of land, Robin quickly scans around to notice Owain stuck on the other side of the bridge and the soldiers. Gaius soon comes in assisting his son before telling him not to underestimate the enemy. Soon the battle is over with Chrom and Luke dealt with the leader and the exalt goes over to see the villagers' condition as the others begin to regroup a long distance away from the valley to set up tents for the night.

Reina and Kai stayed with Cherche with the release of the entire feral wyverns which some licked Kai's face as thanks to which his dismay. Then Cherche notices the masked wyvern rider who seems to be getting ready to leave.

"Cherche." The pink-haired rider turns back at Reina. "Kai and I can handle this while you go talk with him." She says.

Cherche stares at her before smiling. "Thank you, Reina. But that wasn't the reason I was looking at him." She states. "His wyvern is rather cute. It would be great if I could take a look, though that would seem rather rude of me."

"Don't be. If that is you want to do then ask him."

"All right. Once again thank you, Reina." Cherche then turns to her beloved wyvern. "Let's hurry, Minerva."

Reina watches Cherche pulling the reins of her wyvern towards the man and hears Kai calling for her to help since one of the baby wyverns won't stop licking him.

"Do you have a moment?" Gerome stops his preparation and looks up to see Cherche with her wyvern.

"What is it?"

"I was hoping you might introduce me to your wyvern."

"Why?"

"To see which of ours is cuter. Not very sporting of me when mine is the finest in the world, I know."

Gerome stares at Cherche at this statement and finally says,"…Do as you please."

"I will, then! Thank you." Cherche then begins to compare Gerome's wyvern to Minerva. "…Hee hee! Oh, but you ARE cute! She's nearly a match with Minerva! …Nearly so in every way." She then notices something. "Wait, what sorcery is this? They… they look IDENTICAL!"

"That's because they are identical. They're one and the same."

"…M-Minerva? How is that possible?"

"You could examine her from tip to tail looking for scars and marks if you like." The man says and pulls out something from his pocket. "…Our you could just look at this ring."

At the sight of the ring in his palm, everything falls into place as the pink-haired knight speaks in surprise, "I…I know that ring. So then you're…"

"I am, though I had not intended that we meet." He bluntly states.

"Why not?"

"I came back in time so I might release Minerva." The man answers bluntly. "Not to seek out parents to whom I've already bidden farewell."

His answer shocks the female rider. "You crossed the bounds of time just to set Minerva free? Whatever for?!"

"In the future I know, she is among the last of her kind. I…" Surprisingly, the man's voice shows signs of falter as he continues strong. "I could not leave her to that solitude."

Cherche gives a warm smile to Gerome. "She is lucky indeed to know someone of such kindness. …As I imagine, am I."

The man then shows a visible grimace as he takes a step back. "Stay your words. I've no intention of getting close to you. Fate will not be mocked. This war may claim your life anew, and I'll not weep twice for losing the same mother. My burden is heavy enough."

"But yet you carry it still."

"That's enough." The man speaks firmly as he turns around and surprisingly walks in the direction towards the Shepherds' campsite followed by the future Minerva.

Seeing this, Cherche smiles warmly and whispers, "Thank you, Gerome."

* * *

~Later~

Kai is sitting at a table with Reina, Meena, and Asuna as he puts his face down on the table letting out a disgruntled sigh.

"Is there something wrong, Papa?" Asuna asks and Reina giggles at his action.

"Some of the baby wyverns were licking him when we saved their parents." She says.

Kai lifts his head with his chin on the table. "I had enough of wyverns for today."

"Come on, Kai. Getting licked by wyvern is the same as getting licked by Pokémon." Meena points out.

"Those two are different."

"How is it different than dealing with baby Pokémon and baby wyverns?" Reina questions.

"A lot." Kai bluntly answers.

"Now, now." The group looks up to see Cherche standing there. "Some of those babies didn't lick you right away." She points out.

"Cherche. Are you done talking to Gerome?" Reina asks.

"Yes." The pink-haired knight replies as she sits next to the female archer. "And thanks to you, I know now that he is mine and Virion's child."

"Gerome is your and Virion's son?!" Reina exclaims as the three trainers remember Virion's personality to Gerome's. "I can't really imagine that…"

"Yeah. Gerome is more of a silent type than to what Virion is…" Kai adds.

"But, he has kindness towards his Minerva since in his future I died." Cherche states.

"I see." Meena replies.

"Mama." Asuna calls.

"What is it, Asuna?" Reina replies.

"Can you teach me how to use a bow?"

"Eh…?" She and Kai simply reply.

"Why?" Reina asks with a sweatdrop.

"Because I wanted to be like you when I grow up."

"Why not be a healer like Meena?"

"I don't wanna! I want to use the bow like Mama!"

"Why do you want to be like Mama?" Kai asks.

"Mama is the prettiest, coolest, and strongest person I know."

"What about Papa?"

"Papa is… also cool but every time you get Mama mad, you always get beat up by her."

An imaginary arrow pierces where his heart is and slumps down.

"She's got that right." Meena confirms which causes another arrow pierces him and making him sit at a corner.

"Is there something wrong with Papa?" Asuna asks innocently.

"Nope. He's just that stupid that's all." Reina replies.

"A big idiot you mean." Meena corrects her and both of them laughs at the statement.


	29. Wings of Justice

Chapter 29: Wings of Justice

After finding a village after a few days of marching towards Mila Tree, the Shepherds decide to enter it seeing that the village is bustling.

"Looks like this village is excited." Reina says.

"Yep!" Asuna nods excitedly.

"Reina!" Meena calls out. "There's fruited candies over here!"

"Really?"

Both the mother and daughter go to the stall where Meena is and buy some of them.

"Here, Éclair." Reina passes a fruited candy to her Pikachu who has sparkles in her eyes before the four tries the candies before letting out a squeal of content.

"This is really good!" Meena exclaims and looks down at Asuna. "What do you think, Asuna."

"Yeah! It's good!"

"They really balance out the sweetness and the sourness in these candies." Reina comments and looks at the stall owner. "Excuse me, can I get more?"

"Sure thing!" The owner replies.

"For the others, I bet." Meena guesses.

"Yeah."

After getting a bag full of the fruited candies, they leave the stall and find Chrom, Lucina, and Frederick together having serious looks.

"Is there something wrong, Chrom?" Reina asks.

"Well, there's a band of rogues ransacking this village without a pause with a leader who is using my name." The prince replies.

"That's despicable!" Meena exclaims.

"Do you know where they are?" Reina asks.

"Frederick said that they are heading north. I was about to gather everyone to go there as well."

* * *

North of the village in a forest, a group of rogues have gathered around as the leader, Ruger, looks at the supplies they stole from the village. "Heh heh... Another fine haul. Long live the great Chrom!"

Then a young girl with brown pigtails and wears a knight armor. "Chrom? Sir? Pegasus Knight Cynthia, returned from patrol, sir! ...Whoops!" She trips from her own feet and gets up with a groan. "Right on the face... S-sorry for my clumsiness, sir! I promise not to trip against for at least 24 hours!"

"That'd be a new record... Now out with it, girl! What did you see?"

"A suspicious band of travelers has been making inquiries in town, sir." Cynthia reports.

"Oh?"

"They call their leader Chrom, sir. Suspect they are impostors posing as you! They must be stopped at once!"

"Er, riiight. Posing as...me. But, uh, we don't have the men to battle these impostors right now. Best swallow our pride and exercise the better part of valor for now." Ruger looks perplexed as he was posing the actual exalt.

"Levelheaded and humble as ever, sir! Allow me to draw their attention while you retreat to safety!"

"Yes, yes, of course. A fine plan."

"I won't let you down, sir!" With a salute, Cynthia quickly goes to her pegasus leaving Ruger there with his men.

"... Gads, she's dumb as a brick. ...Still, full marks for enthusiasm."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Shepherds rush to where the rogues are located when Éclair looks up with her hears standing tall and looks at her trainer telling Reina something.

"Is there something wrong, Éclair?" Reina asks.

"Pika Pikachu!" Éclair points at the sky.

"The sky?" Reina looks up and sees a pegasus knight before turning to Chrom immediately. Chrom! There's something coming this way!"

"What?!" He says and sees the pegasus knight before him. "And you are...?

"All who would pretend to Chrom's name will answer to me for their deceit! Lay down your arms and surrender, or face judgment at my spear!" Cynthia announces.

"Well, she certainly seems eager. What do you think, Robin?"

"Hmm. It looks that she's being deceived by the fake Chrom." Robin replies.

"But doesn't that mean she's gullible?" Kai bluntly questions.

"Well, if she's being honestly deceived, we may be able to show her the truth." Chrom notes.

"Enough! In the name of my lord Chrom, cast down your sword or draw it!" Cynthia shouts.

Soon the Shepherds get in their positions by Robin's instructions as the rogues come out from hiding before the company fights the enemy off. Seeing the young pegasus knight, Sumia goes up to Cynthia.

"Pardon me, but...I think you may be misinformed. Can we speak a moment?" Sumia asks.

"Don't waste your breath! Your lies ring hollow!" Cynthia exclaims before looking at the ring in Sumia's finger. "Your...ring? ...Ring? Y-your RING! MOTHER!"

"...What?"

"It is you! Oh, Mother, you're alive! I never thought I'd see you again! I... I..." Cythina soon cries aloud.

"Um...are you all right?"

Cynthia abruptly stops after realizing something. "WAIT! But if you're on that side, that means... Ohmigosh. My Chrom is a FAKE! Oh, I am going to KILL him for this! I'm going to plant a flying hoof right in his stupid liar face!"

"Wait! We really should..." Before Sumia can continue, Cynthia immediately flies off to where Ruger is. "Well, at least she's not confused anymore. If only I could say the same for me..."

After sniping a few rogues, Reina spots Cynthia flying off to Ruger as she sees an angered look on her face.

"Looks like that girl finally figured out, but in that direction... Don't tell me!" She quickly follows the pegasus knight quickly leaving Kai and his Pokémon, Blacky to fight off the rogues with Chrom and Luke.

Looking at the battlefield, Ruger frowns at the sight of his men going down even with the mercenary fighting for him are getting injured. "Tch, I knew we should run away when we had a chance..." He says and sees Cynthia coming towards him with an angered look before stopping in front of the leader.

"How dare you lied to me about you being Chrom!" Cythina shouts.

"What do you mean? I'm the ruler of Ylisse, Chrom."

"I spoke to one of the REAL Shepherds and found out that the real Chrom was on that side!"

"You found me out. Well, I'm not dying in a backwater like this. I'll take what's handy and then take off!" Ruger shouts and attacks her before her pegasus flies away to dodge him.

Cynthia then dives down with her lance ready at the rogue leader with a yell but Ruger dodges which gives him a chance to finish her until an arrow hits on his chest where the heart is and falls backward on the ground.

"Wouldn't have had to...live like this...if I'd...been a prince..." He groans his last breath.

Seeing how close her death was, Cynthia turns around to see Reina with her hand behind her with a bow aiming at the dead rogue.

"You don't know how Chrom's feel as a prince." She states at the dead man and turns to the young pegasus knight. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yes." Cynthia stutters.

"That's good." Reina smiles. "There are still other rogues to rid. Let's go."

Cynthia looks at her and nods before the two resume fighting with the rest of the Shepherds. After getting rid of the rogues, the Shepherds relax their form as Chrom sheathes his sword. "That's the last of them."

"We can explain the truth to those mercenaries as we tend their wounds. Frankly, I'm shocked that scoundrel had the audacity to impersonate you, milord." Frederick states.

"Not the worst of his crimes, I'm sure." Chrom says.

"It is unacceptable, milord. I have clearly failed in my duties as a knight. I shall draft a series of portraits and see that copies are distributed to all! Never again shall someone mistake the noble visage of my lord Chrom for—"

"Frederick. Let's just go." Chrom cuts his retainer off.

Once the Shepherds return to the village, Chrom along with Frederick explains that the rogue posing as Chrom was the fake as they dealt the other rogues along with them. Soon the villagers all apologize the prince how they were mistaken and throws them a feast later at the night.

Then Cynthia walks to Sumia who is grooming her pegasus and asks, "Do you have a moment, Sumia?"

Turning around Sumia hearing her voice. "Oh, hello. You're the girl from...before. Er…"

"Cynthia! My name is Cynthia!"

"What a darling name."

"Tee hee! I KNOW! I've always loved it. It was a gift from my mother. ...From you."

"What? Me? But I... I've never seen…"

"Oh, but you WILL! Isn't that great?! I came from the FUTURE, Mother! See? Our rings match up and everything! It's 'cause you have it to me! Or you will. I mean, later. Before I come back here, but after I... Gods, this is confusing!"

Being dumbfounded, Sumia looks at the ring that is similar to hers and looks back at Cynthia. "You...you're my daughter...?"

"I sure am! I missed you so, Mother. Come here. Give me a hug—Whoops!" Cynthia abruptly trips but quickly gets up. "Ooh. That one's gonna bruise... Er, don't worry about me. I'm fine!"

"...Well, we're definitely related." Sumia then spots something drop on the ground. "Hold on. You dropped something. ...A spearhead?"

"S-sorry! I'll take that back!" The Young pegasus knight quickly snatches her spearhead back.

"Why are you carrying that around?" Sumia asks.

"Because it hasn't been made yet. You promised me we'd make it together."

"I did?"

"But you broke your promise the day... The day you never came home. How could you leave me, Mother? You were a legend! You were invincible!"

"Wait, are you saying I...died? I'm so sorry, love. I guess I'm not much of a legend after all."

"...You are to me."

"...I may not be invincible, but at least I was blessed with a wonderful child. Had we decided what sort of haft to give the spear? We can pick up the materials in the next town."

"W-we can?"

Sumia smiles. "I made a promise, didn't I?"

Cynthia tries to hold back her tears. "Oh...oh, Mother... I love you!"


	30. Noble Lineage

Chapter 30: Noble Lineage

After staying at the village for the night, the Shepherds continue their march the next morning to their destination, Mila Tree. Elsewhere, a group of ruffians begins to attack at a ruin of a shrine.

"There's nothin' like war for the self-made ma! No, sir! The strong rise to the top while the high-borns try to keep the blue blood inside 'em." The ruffian leader, Xalbador, exclaims.

"Hold, defiler! This is sacred ground! Your wickedness will be punished!" The elder declares.

"By who? The same gods that abandoned me when I was starving as a boy? When you see the gods, tell 'em I said they can rot in hell!" Xalbador then stabs the elder, killing him.

A young priest wearing black robes and blond hair with a thin line scar going down by his eye sees this. "Dastard! I'll gut ya for that!"

But before he can attack the man, a villager stops him. "Brady, no! There's nothing you can do! Who would tend to the injured if we lost you?"

"But…"

"We'll fight as best we're able! You help from the rear lines." The man tells Bradly and leaves to go fighting.

"Ugh! Good people are dying, and I can't help! If only I could fight…"

-Meanwhile, in a forest-

"Chrom! We have to hurry!" Maribelle asks.

"What's wrong, Maribelle?" The prince asks.

"There're people fighting just over that ridge! LOTS of people!"

"They look like they need help. Let's go, Shepherds!" Chrom announces.

With that, the Shepherds quickly go to the shrine and prepare themselves to battle. Once that is done, one of the villagers come up to them.

"H-help us! Please! The temple's beset by marauding bandits!" He pleads.

"Don't you worry! We're happy to help! If there's one thing this world needs less of, it's wretched bandits…" Maribelle assures him.

Near them, Brady immediately recognizes the voice. "Wait. I know that voice. Is that...Ma?"

Soon the battle starts as the Shepherds fight off the bandits to protect the villagers as the healers are tending their wounds prior to the battle. Seeing how Maribelle heals a villager, Bradly laughs.

"Haw haw haw! Oh, that's her. That's gotta be her."

"Pardon me, you mannerless cur! I'll not stand to be laughed at by a base scoundrel of your ilk!" Maribelle retorts.

"...Yep. That clinches it. You must be Maribelle." Bradly says.

"And just how do you know that?! Do you leer at me from behind the shades of whatever den of iniquity you frequent?! Hmph! I bid you good day!" She exclaims and leaves.

"I guess you've always been like this. Still...it's good to see you again. And now that I've found ya, I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

The battle continues as Shepherds fights off the bandits while protecting the villagers. Soon, Robin and Drago face off Xalbador as he shouts, "You people can keep your gods. I'll put my faith in gold and steel!"

Just as the leader charges towards the two, Robin and Drago jump away from the charge and the tactician sends Thunder magic with Drago sending a Dragon Pulse, striking the enemy leader dead. With the bandit leader dead, the bandits immediately fall apart and an elder approaches Chrom thanking him for protecting this place and sparing the lives within. For rewarding the deed, the elder gives him a powerful staff, Fortify and offer them to stay for the night.

Meanwhile, as Maribelle gets ready to set up in the ruins, Brady comes up to her.

"Hey, Ma." He calls.

"What did you call me?" Maribelle questions.

"The name's Brady. I'm—"

Maribelle cuts him off. "I'm sorry, but I only cure physical ailments. Broken bones and the like. You're clearly a deeply troubled individual whose diseased mind is beyond my healing."

"Stop talking for a minute and look at this!" Bradly shouts and shows her his ring.

"That's...my ring! Then, that makes you…"

"Right. Like I was trying to say, I'm—"

"A thief! A rapscallion! A common lowborn cutpurse! How dare you sneak in here and steal my prized possessions!"

"Gawds! Stop interruptin' for one blessed second, and check yer ring!"

Maribelle looks down to see that her ring is still in her finger. "...Oh. It's still here."

"That clear things up any, Ma?"

"Everything save how I gave birth to a common thug!"

"Aw, come on, Ma! That's harsh! Sure, I'm not the prettiest guy around, but I'm no thug, and I AM your son! ...And it's good to see you."

"...How did I ever permit my child to grow up referring to me as 'Ma'?"

"You gave up tryin' after a decade or so."

"Well, can you at least ride? Have you read the classics? Do you play violin? Chess?!"

"Yeah, all of the above. You beat all'a that junk into me."

"Glory be! My son is salvageable after all!"

"Uh...thanks?"

"Don't look so forlorn, dear. You've come a long way, but Mother's here now. I'll take care of things from now on."

Bradly sniffs as he about to cry. "I missed you so much, Ma…"

"Do not even THINK of crying! It does not befit one of your station!" Maribelle tells him but she has her own tears. "Plus, you'll set me off as well…"

"S-sorry, I just... I... Oh, Ma!" Brady cries out.

"Oh, Brady!"

Seeing this, Chrom cringes at the 'reunion'. "Oh, brother."

Meanwhile, Reina is leaning on a wall with a pained look and has her hand on her chest breathing heavily.

"Reina, are you okay?" Meena asks, walking towards her sister.

"Yeah... It's just that it's getting harder to breathe..." Reina replies.

"Maybe we should take a rest." Kai suggests also noticing this.

"Pika-pika." Éclair agrees with a worried look.

"I'm fine. We need to head towards Mila Tree..." Reina trails off as she about to collapse.

"Reina!" Kai calls out as he catches her mid-fall.

"Mama!" Asuna calls out.

"What's going on?" Chrom asks as he comes to them hearing the commotion.

"Reina suddenly collapsed!" Meena exclaims.

"What?!" Lissa shouts as she, Maribelle, and their partners rush towards the female archer.

Lying her down on a blanket, Reina continues to breath heavily as Lissa and Maribelle check on her. Standing back up, the princess turns to her brother.

"How is she?" Chrom asks.

"She's fine, I think it's stress building up from the march." Lissa replies.

"Now that I think of it, we have been walking for a long time without stop. Don't you think we should stop for the day and rest?" Kai asks.

"Yes, you're right." Chrom agrees.

"Then I'll tell the others about this." Meena says as she runs towards where the other Shepherds are with her Riolu running after her.

"Try not to trip!" Kai tells her.

Meena stops and turns around. "I'm not a kid anymore!" She shouts before she continues running.

Kai scratches back of his head with an unsure look as Lissa turns to him.

"You sure are worrywart when comes with Reina and Meena." She says.

"Not as much as Reina, but when we were little, Meena was a clutz. She trips after a few steps and there was a time that she slipped into a river."

"No way! I can't imagine that."

"Yeah. Probably, after that incident, she changed."

"'That incident', could it be that time Reina was endangered by her fever?"

"You heard about that?"

"Meena told us."

"I see." Kai smiles.

* * *

A/N: Alright! That's it for future kids Paralogues (for now)! Look forward to the next chapter. As any or some of you knew which character is coming up, please hold that thought until then. Now then, I want all of you readers to tell me which pokemon perfect for Gerome, Cynthia, and Bradly's partner since in my head is to focus finishing these chapters that I didn't think about this so I'm sorry for doing this *putting hands together as an apology*.


	31. Reina's Secret Truth

Chapter 31: Reina's Secret Truth

With everyone well rested and charged, the Shepherds continue marching forward while Chrom opens the map in his hand showing the continent of Valm. As he looks around their surrounding and compares it to the illustrations, he smiles.

"Good. It seems we're almost there now. Say'ri, is this where you said that the shrine is located?"

They all glance over to the map as the woman nods. "Aye, it should be just over these hills, Prince Chrom."

"Really?!" Lissa exclaims, overjoyed with the news. "Let's go see! Let's go, Chi!"

"Tabune!" Chi runs after her trainer

"This isn't a playground, right?" Kai questions.

Robin chuckles, "Let them have their fun for now. We still have to get to work later and free the Voice."

"But I'm surprised how easily we got here." Meena notes.

"You think that too?" Reina asks with a frown. "We haven't seen any risen or Valmese soldiers on the way here so far. They're probably preparing for something."

Chrom nods. "It may be best for us to be wary of our surroundings then."

"WHOA!"

They all look up and see the princess standing at the top jumping up and down excitedly as her Pokémon is stun at whatever the sight of their destination is. "This is amazing!"

Hearing this, they walk up the hill after the two, the three trainers' eyes widen in shock as Reina gasps, "What a huge tree..."

"Not just huge, but gigantic!" Meena corrects her.

"And the shrine is in that tree?" Kai questions in surprise.

"How are we going to get up there?" Reina wonders.

"I'll explain along the way." Say'ri states. "First, we need to get to the trunk as soon as possible, but I can assure you that everyone will be able to climb up the tree."

The tree where the shrine resides in is gigantic and is incomparable to even the Ylissean castle back in Ylisstol. It has an enormous trunk that can possibly fit an entire village in and have numerous large branches covered in small, lush green leaves. The width of the roots is about the size of an average house or even larger than that as it attaches itself to the earth. It wasn't long before they soon reach under the tree's vast branches that Lissa glances up in awe.

"Whoaaa... I don't think I've ever felt so small…" Lissa admits.

"I can't even see the top of it!" Basilio comments in disbelief at its size.

Frederick nods in agreement. "Most impressive indeed... So, the shrine hides all the way up in its branches?"

"Aye, sir." Say'ri replies. "A great staircase inside the trunk leads up to it. However, the empire has closed off the only route to the steps. Or perhaps, 'roots' to the steps, I should say."

"Roots?" Asuna asks with a confused look.

"Aye. The stairs are located between the roots of the tree. If we're to get to the stairs, we're needed to use the roots as our guide to the steps. However, the Valmese have taken over them and the villages nearby."

"Then, we'll just have to break through." Chrom says with a nod as they soon caught sight of the army led by a bald armored general with a big mustache in the far back. "Robin!"

"I've gotten the plan down, Chrom." Robin replies with a cocky smile. "We're ready."

* * *

The battle has begun for a while now as Reina and Éclair take some of their mages with either arrows or electric moves. Meena and Bradly are busy rushing around healing the Shepherds with Maribelle, Lissa, and their Pokémon. It wasn't long before they soon outnumber their enemy as Miriel and her Bakeccha, Jacky are able to finish off their general from afar with the armorbreaker that Robin had Laslow wield during the fight against the science and beard obsessed general. Despite the man being gone now, they decide to continue to follow after Say'ri.

Reina glances over to the swordswoman. "Say'ri, do you know the way up to the shrine?"

"Aye, follow me." The swordswoman answers before looking around in the distance before adding, "And let us be quick about it."

Kai nods. "No doubt that the word about their general's defeat will reach to their emperor."

They hurry after the woman up the large roots till they come across a set of stairs that leads high up into the branches of the tree as Say'ri said they were. The set of stairs are even large enough to allow their Shepherds two wyverns to enter. As they walk up for what seems to be hours, Lissa stops to catch her breath.

"Ugh... How many stairs are there in a case of stairs? Because I'm already sick of this stupid staircase!"

"Not much now." Say'ri replies with a smile and points up ahead. "See there?"

There stands what looks to be a strange rock-like structure as the stairs began to disappear. Seeing this, the Ylissean princess cheers as Lucina looks up nervously. "The Voice truly lives all the way up here?"

As they reach the grassy top of the tree, they are surprised to see that, rather than branches and good, there are stone floors, strange structures around the corners of the grassy plain and a tall structure in the center with large stone doors open to all.

Say'ri rushes over to the front of the tall structure and shouts, "Lady Tiki! Are you here? Prithee answer!"

From the darkness of the interior walks out a woman with green hair tied back into a ponytail with a red ribbon, wore pink collar cloak that reaches down her waist, red dress, a pink sash around her waist, and red knee-length, high heel boots followed with red gloves and gold gauntlets under them. Unlike Nowi with her pointed ears, the woman has strangely spiky shaped tiara with a red jewel and a gold choker around her neck. As she walks out yawning as she does groggily.

Say'ri rushes over to the woman. "Ah, my lady... I'm so relieved to see you're all right."

Lucina walks up to the woman. "So, you are Lady Tiki? She who speaks for the divine dragon?"

Suddenly, the woman freezes in the middle of what was probably her third yawn and looks to the woman with wide eyes as she mutters, "...Marth? Oh, Mar-Mar, is that you?!"

"Mar-Mar?" Reina repeats as she walks behind the future princess.

As Lucina glances over to the manakete with a confused look, the Voice glances over to the female trainer making her eyes grow wider. "And Mei-Mei?! You finally came back!" Without warning, the woman rushes over to the two surprising them as she embraces both Lucina and Reina.

Stun, Lucina nervously replies, "...I'm sorry, but my name is Lucina, milady."

"Yes, and my name is Reina." The trainer adds.

Hearing this, the woman looks up in surprise and immediately jumps back with a frown. "O-oh! I'm sorry about that..."

Once released, Lucina says, "Though I did go by the name Marth for a time. Might we have met?"

However, the woman shakes her head with a sad expression. "...Alas, no. I'm sorry... The two reminds me of some people I knew." The manakete closes her eyes with a sad and nostalgic expression. "But they're both gone now. Lost before and during my endless sleep..."

As the two grimaces in silence understanding her words, the woman opens her eyes and looks up to the Lucina. "You and your father are of the exalted bloodline, are you not?"

"Yes, milady." Chrom replies with a nod.

"Do you yet possess the Fire Emblem?" Tiki questions. "It should have been passed down through your family..."

Chrom's eyes widen in shock. "I... Yes, I have it..."

With that, he raises his arm that wields the golden shield. Seeing this brings a smile to her lips with eyes of relief. "Ah! What relief to know it has not been lost." As she examines the shield closer, she looks to the man with a curious expression. "...But where are the Gemstones? I see only Argent."

Hearing this surprises everyone as Chrom raises his brow. "Gemstones?"

Tiki nods and explains, "Yes, there are five of them- Argent, Sable, Gules, Azura, and Vert. Each holds a portion of Naga's power. When mounted upon the Fire Emblem, they allow one to perform the Awakening."

"The Awakening?" Meena repeats.

Hearing this, Frederick looks up in surprise. "The rite by which the first exalt channeled the divine dragon's power..."

Tiki nods. "The very same. With the Fire Emblem's power, the exalt was able to defeat Grima. But such power was too much for men, and so the Gemstones were scattered." She turns around, then pulls something out a green orb from a small yellow bag hanging from her sash. "I keep Azure here with me."

"Then, what about the others?" Kai asks.

"My kingdom had safeguarded Vert for generations." Say'ri speaks up before she grimaces. "But the gem was recently stolen by Walhart's men."

Hearing this, Lucina turns to the green-haired manakete. "Milady, do you know where the other two Gemstones might be?"

Tiki shakes her head sadly. "The remaining Gemstones, Sable and Gules, are no longer known to me. They may have been taken long ago, at the time of Schism."

"The Schism?" Reina repeats.

"She's referring to when they had to separate the gems," Basilio explains briefly. "Regna Ferox was founded during the Schism. As were all nations in the realm, I believe."

Surprise at this, Lucina asks the Khan, "Wait- does that mean you guys have one of the Gemstones, Basilio?"

Flavia says in disbelief, "Ha! As if anyone would entrust the oaf with such a thing!"

"Actually, it's true- We did keep one: Gules." The West Khan says before turning to the jaw-dropped leading Khan. "...Did I never inform you?"

Flavia grimaces. "You most certainly did not."

Basilio frowns as he places a hand on his bearded chin. "Hmm... Must have slipped my mind. Regardless, yes. The West-Khans once safeguarded Gules. But it was lost long before my lifetime."

Regardless of everyone else's reaction, Tiki frowns but turns to Chrom and stretches out her hand holding the gem. "Here. Take Azure, exalted ones. With it, you possess two of the five Gemstones, Now you must seek out the others and perform the Awakening. Our world must be defended from Grima at all cost!"

Hearing this, Chrom receives the gemstone while he gives the woman a look of uncertainty. "But I'm confused... I thought Grima's power was sealed away."

Tiki nods. "Yes, but ever since, there have been those who would change that. Grima's life force grows even now, and, with it, the long shadows of despair."

Lucina grimaces recalling her memories as everyone nods in understanding. Reina turns to the manakete, "But, when will he return? And where?"

Tiki shakes her head. "I cannot know these things. I can feel his presence... It looms, closer and closer... This task is a heavy burden, but as he of exalted blood, it must fall to you, Chrom."

Chrom nods with a smile. "I understand. Thank you, for all your help."

As Chrom places the gemstone from his hand to one of the sockets of the shields, Robin turns to Tiki. "We owe you a great debt, milady."

Tiki glances over to the tactician before her eyes light up in surprise. "Ah! You... You have it as well..."

"What?" Robin looks up with uncertainty.

"You have power..." The woman speaks. "Like mine."

"I do?"

"I..." Tiki shakes her head as Say'ri gives the woman a concerned look. "Ah... Forgive me... I'm still groggy from my slumber. My words outpace my thoughts still."

"Are you all right, milady?" The swordswoman asks with a frown.

"I am fine..." The manakete replies as she yawns. "Just very tired... I haven't the strength to join you in the fray. Not yet. But I will all the people together, in prayer, for an end to this conflict. Say'ri, I'd like for you to join me as I do this."

"Of course, milady!" The woman says before following the manakete back into the temple.

* * *

Later, the group decides to make camp near Milla Tree as they wait for Say'ri and Tiki to come out. Not long after that, Reina walks out of the camp entrance with Éclair on her shoulder.

"Pika..." Éclair calls.

"I know what you're thinking, Éclair but I have to know. After Lady Tiki said that, it's been bothering me about this 'Mei-Mei'." As she said this, Reina leaves the camp and goes to the shrine.

The interior of the shrine is spacious; there are columns along the halls that soon lead into a room where the light shines down on a decorated cushion area where the green-haired woman is lying curled up and fast asleep with orbs and bottles of strange potions lying about her while the swordswoman stands in front of her.

Say'ri turns around and sees Reina with a look of surprise. "Lady Reina, is there something you need?"

"Y-Yes." Reina stutters. "I was hoping to ask Lady Tiki some questions, but it seems that she's asleep."

Say'ri shakes her head. "You don't have to worry. Lady Tiki also wanted to talk to you."

"Eh?"

"Lady Tiki... Lady Tiki..."

As the swordswoman shakes the woman's shoulder a little harsher, Tiki slowly opens her green eyes and slowly gets up rubbing her eyes drowsily. "Mmm... Say'ri...?"

"Yes. Reina has arrived." Say'ri answers.

"Huh...?" Tiki says with a yawn before gasping in shock before she sees the trainer. "Ah, I'm sorry. I tend to always feel rather sleepy and fall asleep in strange places."

"Umm... It's fine. Say'ri mentioned that you wanted to speak with me."

The manakete nods. "Yes, I'd like to speak to you about Mei-Mei, Meira."

"Mei... ra...?" Reina repeats slowly.

"She was a great friend to Marth as a prince and to me a sister-figure. She helped Marth during his journey saving his country, Altea. However one day, she disappeared without a trace. I have feared that she might have gone forever without telling me and Mar-Mar."

"That's why you said that earlier..."

"Yes. You greatly resemble her."

"Maybe it's because of the sister aura? I have a little sister."

Tiki shakes her head. "No, that's not all. Your voice, behavior, and actions... they all remind of Meira. And also..." The Voice looks straight into Reina's eyes. "...all that worried me."

"Worried?"

"Pika?" Éclair tilts her head.

"I heard from Say'ri that you were born with a weak constitution."

"Meena..." Reina facepalms thinking that her sister told Say'ri this.

"And when you were saved from being nearly died from your fever, your body becomes stronger, correct?"

"Umm... That's what my parents told me... Even though I don't know why..."

"Reina. This pains me to say this but your body is still frail."

Both Reina and Éclair are surprised to hear this.

"What do you mean? I traveled around Hoenn Region with my sister without a problem and here I am fighting with the Shepherds." Reina states.

"It's true that up till now you were traveling and fighting along with your comrades. But that's not all, you hold a power that Meira had. It's because of that power, it saved you."

"Power?"

"It's not the same power as mine nor anyone else's in this world. If that power is used for good, that can protect this world. But if it used for evil, it can be used for destruction. Meira chose to use that power to help Marth with his journey and saved me."

Reina looks down to her hands. "Why... do I have this power...?"

"Probably... You're the other Meira."

"Huh...?"

"Did you notice when you enter this world?"

"I..." Reina remembers the time when she first awakened in this world and when she laid eyes with her surroundings, she felt nostalgia. The archer places her hand on her chest. "At that time, I don't know why I felt it but..."

Tiki sincerely smiles at the trainer. "But Reina, don't forget you are yourself in person."

"Me as myself..." Reina whispers to herself and smiles. "Yes!" Then she walks away to the door.


	32. Unexpected Betrayal

Chapter 32: Unexpected Betrayal

After coming down the tree, Say'ri escorts Tiki to the Shepherds' camp and the swordswoman is taken to the meeting tent where Chrom, Luke, Robin, Drago, and the two Khans are. There Robin tells that the Resistance is coming together from a scout.

"Factions of the Resistance are already uniting in answer to the Voice's call! Soon bards will sing of this day... 'They who conquered the Conqueror!'" Say'ri exclaims.

"A tune I'm most anxious to hear." Chrom says.

 **"That I can't** wait. **"** Luke adds.

"But a man like Walhart will not roll over dead at the first sign of trouble…" Robin points out.

"Aye, my lady...as you say." Say'ri agrees. "He will muster his forces to put down the Rebellion. Then his gaze will turn to us. Against his full might, we would not last long."

"Where are his armies garrisoned?" Chrom asks.

"The Valmese Imperial Army is comprised of three main divisions: one controls the north, one the south, and the third the lands between. Emperor Walhart commands the northern forces. Their might easily exceeds our own. The south is led by my brother, Yen'fay. His host is said to rival Walhart's."

"Divisions, are they? Hmm…" Robin says with a mischievous look.

"I see a plan brewing in those eyes of yours, Robin..." Flavia points out.

"If we could divide their divisions—disrupt communications, supplies, et cetera... Then introduce misinformation to add to the confusion...a whisper here and there... The panic would spread on its own...and all the quicker for their great number. Such a giant force could collapse under its own weight."

Chrom looks at the swordswoman. "Say'ri—the third division, stationed between the other two…"

Say'ri nods. "Aye, sir, at Fort Steiger, halfway along the highroad. In fact, not so far from where we stand now. We might stand a chance against them... But it would take speed and luck. I wager Walhart and Yen'fay will hear of our exploits soon, if they haven't already. I suggest sending the bulk of our army to the north and south to mask our plan. An elite force, led by Sir Chrom, might then quietly slip through to Fort Steiger. What say you?"

"I say, 'aye.'"

"Aye." Flavia agrees.

"Fie! We could all be dead before nightfall, yet not one of you so much as hesitates. Your courage is...an inspiration... Aye, we will win this war yet, by gods!" Say'ri declares.

* * *

The next day, the Shepherds begin their march to Fort Steiger that Say'ri mentioned and they soon come upon gigantic walls with towers and blue tile roofs and blue flags of the enemy.

Flavia grimaces as they draw closer to the walls for examination from afar. "Damn! Look at those walls... This isn't going to be easy."

Basilio frowns. "It's not the walls I'm worried about- It's the horde of Valmese inside them."

Say'ri nods. "Our best is a swift, surgical strike, right at their heart. So..." She narrows her eyes in an inspection of the situation. "Khan Flavia, your men will take on the forces surrounding the castle. That should create an opening for a smaller team led by Chrom and I." She then turns to the prince. "...I regret to say this will put you at the forefront battle, Sir Chrom."

Chrom nods in approval. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"You're only saying that since you don't like being at the back." Reina says.

"You know it."

Say'ri nods with a confident smile. "Then it's settled. Other Resistance forces are on their way. With luck, they'll arrive in time to help. Let's cleave them a proud trail of imperial blood to find us by!"

Meanwhile, a female general who is a priestess, sees the army getting ready to attack. "Hmph. Such arrogance... They truly mean to assault Steiger in such meager numbers? Perhaps they expect a woman's garrison to be a softer target... Heh, when I'm through, they'll wish they'd challenged Yen'fay instead. Battle stations!"

With that, the Valmese soldiers pick up their weapons and take their station to deal with the Shepherds. Then the company begins their charge towards the fort, fighting against the soldiers. With the help of their partner Pokémon, the battle soon goes to their favor until Say'ri feels something moving beneath the floor.

"Sir Chrom—I hear movement from the floor below. It may be reinforcements. Be wary..." She warns.

"That isn't the first time we heard." Reina says, sniping a soldier.

"But I have a bad feeling about this." Kai says cutting down another soldier.

After a while, it is true to what Kai said when reinforcements come up but they are not any reinforcements.

"Our comrades!" Say'ri shouts. "But wait, how…"

"The Resistance had already infiltrated the castle...?" Chrom questions.

Say'ri shakes her head. "Nay, impossible! Something is amiss…"

A man wearing mage's robes appear where the Reinforcements appeared and say, "Oooh, it appears I'm just in time for the Rebellion reunion! Delicious... Please, do give your 'friends' your warmest welcome. Just remember your promise...or you can be sure I will remember mine."

Just like that, the Resistance turns switches sides to the Valmese.

"Say'ri... Are you certain their reinforcements are from the Resistance?" Chrom asks.

Say'ri grimaces and answers, "Aye, sir. I'm ashamed to say I am. I know some of them by name. ...B-but why would they turn cloak against us now?!"

"Oooh, it seems we've touched a nerve! I do so enjoy inappropriate touching... Now be good little servants and scrub the stronghold of Ylissean filth." The mage then warps to the general priestess.

"What is this meddling, Excellus?!" She questions.

"…'Meddling'? Why, General Pheros, one might almost mistake you for ungrateful. This 'meddling' is going to save your post, and quite possibly your life…" Excellus replies.

"We've no need of your parlor tricks here, schemer! I can handle this myself."

"Why yes, of course, you can, General! I can see you're doing SO well already. You're obviously just...waiting to crush the Ylisseans? Toying with them, like a cat! I only brought these rebels so they might learn from your shining example! They were so anxious to join the cause…"

"Because you threatened them? Tortured them? ...Or perhaps their families? Their villages?"

The Valmese mage clears his throat. "...I would not wish to burden you with such mundane details, good General. You have more important matters to think after, and to deal with...quickly. But rest assured they are QUITE motivated. Feel free to thank me some other time!" He says before vanishing to somewhere else.

"Odious freak... He has no honor. Just the sight of him makes me sick. He is the worm, yet I'm the one left squirming... Bah. ...True, his interference may seal our victory...but he'll never hear me say it."

With the Resistance fighting against the Shepherds, Say'ri had a hard time fighting against her former comrades as Reina and Kai fights them instead of the female swordswoman with their Pokémon to stop in their tracks. Then Chrom and Luke come into the throne room seeing the commander of the fort.

"Are you the commander of this fort?" Chrom questions.

"I have no need to answer your question from a fool." The priestess says.

"Then on behave of Ylisse I'll stop you and your leader."

"Then you'd be Prince Chrom... Once, I followed your exalted sister, you know. Made the pilgrimage all the way to Ylisstol, just to hear her speak. I, too, grew up worshipping Naga and the Earth Mother." She confesses.

"...Yet you abandoned your faith."

"I have no use for invisible spirits any longer. I serve a god among men now. Emperor Walhart will do what no religion ever could—unite all people."

"Your naivete betrays you. Think about it: who willingly follows a tyrant?" Chrom questions.

"Thinking plays no part in it. In words and deeds, a great leader takes hold of the heart, not the mind. I remember your sister possessing that selfsame gift for inspiring others. Doubtless many still cling to the power of her poetry. But I have found a greater voice…"

"My sister believed we all desire the same thing: peace. If Walhart holds such promise, why must he use violence to unite the people?"

"Now who is being naive, good Prince? Sometimes those who will not walk must be dragged along or pushed aside. So raise your sword, Chrom of Ylisse, and prepare to be pushed aside."

 **"Looks like we have no choice, right Chrom?"** Luke says.

"Yeah. Let's go, Luke!"

As the two charges the general, she casts powerful fire magic, Bolganone at them but the two dodges the oncoming fire coming up from the floor. Luke then speeds up before sending a horizontal slash at the priestess but she cast the magic just as the Blade Pokémon dodges the fire magic backward towards Chrom is. Luke lands on his feet as he skids on the floor before he looks at his partner which both of them nods and looking back at the priestess. The Blade Pokémon sends his Psycho Cut at Chrom and the prince holds the move with his sword before sending it towards the general Priestess. She casts another Bolganone to block it, but this Psycho Cut is too powerful that it cut through the magic and her as well, causing the general to fall off from her horse.

"…Well done... I may not live... to see Walhart unify all mankind... with my own eyes... But I haven't seen it... in my dreams... And that's enough..." She says and dies from blood loss.

* * *

With the enemy general fell, Khan Basilio sends some scouts to patrol the area for any survivors and the area while Say'ri speaks with the Prince, Robin, and the two Khans.

"Steiger has fallen. ...But I'm afraid our new enemy has the fortress surrounded." Say'ri says with a grimace.

"'New enemy'… You mean the rest of the former Resistance?" Chrom questions.

"Aye, sir. Words cannot express my shame. My... regret... Finally, I succeed in uniting them... but only against us."

Suddenly, the sound of rushing steps across the hall rushes over to them as they glance over and see a soldier.

"Milord! Dire news! Our forces to the north and south have been decimated by Walhart and Yen'fay! What's worse, most of the survivors have turned their coats for the empire!"

Everyone in the room widens their eyes in horror as Say'ri stutters, "B-but our troops numbered in the hundreds of thousands!"

With composed expression, Basilio speaks, "The empire must have had more.

Flavia places her hand on her chin in thought. "Or perhaps been better trained and equipped..."

"Blast!" Say'ri exclaims in disbelief. "Walhart and my brother-" She then turns to the group. "Where are their armies now?"

"Marching towards this fortress, milady. It's only a matter of time." The scout reports hurriedly.

Hearing this, Basilio throws his arms down and grimaces, "So much for fortune favoring the bold. This war was lost before it even began."

Chrom grits his teeth in frustration upon the sudden turn of events. "All of our struggles until now, and we've yet so much as dent the empire..."

As they quickly dismiss the Khan's scout, Robin finally speaks after some thoughts with a firm expression. "Chrom..."

The prince turns to his wife. "What is it, Robin? Do you have something to say?"

At this, the tactician soon gained the attention of the desperate group as she continues. "We need to leave here–right away."

"Have you lost your wits?!" Flavia exasperates as she continues with a wave her arm to their surrounding fortress. "We're surrounded!"

"We're not completely surrounded yet. When the other armies arrive, then we'll be trapped for certainty."

"Say'ri nods at this. "They're right. The dynasts outside betray us only out of fear for the empire. They'll only put up token resistance without their masters watching."

Chrom frowns. "But we can't keep running forever. How do we hope to turn the tide?"

"By striking at either Walhart or Yen'fay before they join strength." Robin states.

 **"But that's..."** Luke says.

"Either one seems a death sentence." Chrom finishes.

"One general would be upon us before we could finish the other." Say'ri adds.

"I agree...which is why we attack both." The tactician suggests.

Flavia yells in disbelief to what she had heard from the tactician's lips, "Our army lies in tatters, yet you would divide it by half?!"

Robin shakes her head before she clarifies, "…I didn't say by half. Chrom would lead our strongest troops against Yen'fay. Meanwhile a smaller force would attack Walhart."

"A SMALLER force?" Basilio says in bewilderment. "We couldn't defeat him with double our entire number."

The female tactician shakes her head. "...I didn't say we'd defeat him. We only need to distract him."

"Hmm... Spend some lives to buy the other team time..." Basilio says aloud.

On the other hand, Chrom grimaces with deep concern. "The smaller force would face our most dangerous mission yet. It would need a leader of unparalleled skill, reckless bravery..."

Suddenly, Basilio laughs aloud as Ylisse's exalt speaks. "All right, Chrom, please- You're embarrassing me! I'll do it already, just stop with all the compliments!"

Stunned by this, they all turn to him as Robin scolds the Khan, "This is no time for japes, Basilio. The stakes could not be higher."

"Head-head!" Drago agrees.

Despite their words, Basilio continues with a more serious expression. "I am being serious... I'll lead the squad Though I prefer my steaks well done..."

After some silence, Flavia just shakes her head with a sigh in defeat and smiles. "That's just his way, Robin. Bad jokes come with the bravado. But the oaf clearly has faith in your thinking. And I as well... All of us do, I'd wager. Somehow you always find a way to best the odds."

Basilio nods with a more determined expression. "Then it's settled. I'll make preparation and be off. The rest of you stay with Chrom and keep him safe."

About the silence, the tactician nods her head firmly. "Godspeed, Basilio."

Just as Basilio turns, the doors slams open with a shout, "Stop!"

Immediately, everyone looks at the doorway to see Lucina there.

Chrom eyes widen in surprise as Adella rushes behind her. "Lucina? What are you-"

Lucina shakes her head as she stands firmly between them and the entrance. "I cannot allow you to go, Khan Basilio. You will die in this battle. I know it for truth!"

"What?" Her father says with a look of concern.

Basilio scratches the back of his head. "You know, lass, you have a strange way of saying good-bye." He sighs and continues. "All right, then. Who is it? Who kills me? Is it Walhart himself? ...Please say yes. It'd make a poor song to die at the end of some farmer's pitchfork."

Hesitantly, the princess nods her head with a stern look. "...Yes, it was Walhart. Or so goes the story I heard. We must change our plans so fate cannot take this course!"

However, the khan raises his head for her to stop going any further. "All I need to know. Thank you much, lass. ...I'll be careful."

Shock, Lucina questions, "Y-you're still going? But I just told you-"

Basilio nods his head in response to her outburst, "Aye, I heard you just fine. But someone still has to stall his division from advancing. If he's the one that kills me, well then, I'll just avoid confronting him. You don't grow this old and handsome without knowing how to avoid trouble."

N-no." Lucina continues. "It's not that simple!"

Flavia shakes her head and says in reassurance to the future princess. "Don't worry, love, he'll be fine. He'll have me to keep an eye on him."

Suddenly, Basilio turns to her in a look of surprise. "You aren't coming, woman! You're the reigning khan!"

Flavia turns to him in irritation as she shouts back, "I thought you intended to survive this, oaf! Regna Ferox has two Khans, and now you're responsible for both. I dare you to die now!"

Despite the uncomfortable tension between the two rulers, Basilio suddenly laughs. "All right, all right. You can come too." He turns to the exalt with a smile. "...Hope that's all right, Chrom."

Chrom nods with a look of worry. "Just look after each other."

Flavia huffs a laugh. "Ha! I'll bring this big ox back on a leash if it comes to that."

Basilio smiles and waves his hand without turning back. "Luck and more be will you all. We'll meet again soon."

Desperately, Lucina continues, "But please, your future! You must-"

Basilio shakes his head and says in irritation. "'Please,' yourself! Not another word. I fully intend to outlive all your sprogs, just see if I don't. And as for your 'future,' it can kill my big brown Feroxi arse!"

Just like that, the two rulers walk pass the speechless swordswoman and out the double doors without ever looking back. Adella rubs her head against her partner's leg to comfort the future princess.

As the two khans walk down the hall, Basilio spots Reina leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. After the two walks past her, she speaks, "Isn't that too harsh on Lucina saying like that?"

"If I didn't say like that, she'll keep pestering me to not go." Basilio replies.

"I can see your point..." Reina trails off and looks up sternly. "Are we going to do 'that' plan?"

"I still don't know if 'that' plan is going to work."

"Even though you said all that?"

Basilio laughs at the question. "You're right." He then continues walking down with Flavia to go and stall Walhart for the rest of the company to fight Yen'fay.


	33. Say'ri's Trial

Chapter 33: Say'ri's Trial

After leaving the fort behind, Say'ri leads the Shepherds to escape from Yen'fay's men until they stop near a mountain range.

"Just as I thought," Say'ri says with a mutter and a nod of approval, "the turncloaks only made a show of opposing us. We're clear of them. But Yenfay's forces approach swiftly. It won't be long now..."

Robin nods. "We should hasten south to meet them, and distance ourselves from Walhart." Her face warps into a grimace. "This battle will be challenge enough without the Conquerer breathing down our backs."

"...Another concern: the dynasts who betrayed us." Say'ri continues and Chrom nods as they recall their encounter with a few groups of the former resistance. "They attacked us and let us go both because it suited their purpose." Say'ri looks to the smoking mountain. "Should they attack us from behind as we battle Yen'fay, it would be an easy victory. They would curry favor with the empire without risk of injury. This is how they think."

"Cowards. Switching to the enemy side whenever it's convenient." Reina states.

"I understand how you feel, but calm down, Reina," Robin says with a frown. "What we need right now is a strategy out of this mess."

Chrom nods. "We cannot defend two fronts. We'll need to choose our battlefield carefully..." As he said this, his eyes soon shift to the burning mountain. "Say'ri, that mountain- I've seen it smoke for hours, but I see no trees on it anywhere?"

She glances up with a look of confusion as she explains, "What... ah. That is no forest fore, sir. It's a volcano. Have never seen one?"

"There were few times that I visited a volcano in Hoenn Region, but I had to wash my body and clothes because of the soot." Reina says trying not to remember at how many times she had to wash her body and clothes to clean off the soot.

"Well, that one is called the Demon's Ingle. It is known and feared by all people of Valm. Few dare even get close, lest they anger the wicked fire god."

Hearing this, Chrom nods with a hand on his chin. "Hm... Robin? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Suddenly, Kai looks uncertain. "Don't tell me-!"

Luke and Drago also get the idea as the Blade Pokémon speaks, **"Chrom, that plan..."**

"Head!" Drago speaks.

However, Robin nods. "Only if you're wondering how quickly we can to reach the volcano."

"G-go to Demon's Ingle?!" Say'ri exclaims in shock. "Do you know what you're saying?"

Robin nods once more. "I'm saying your opportunistic former friends wouldn't dare risk following us. And we can use the flames as barriers, to limit how your brother's army approaches."

Hearing the idea fully, Say'ri thought carefully. "Mmm... And Brother will still come his stubborn pride will force his hand..." She then grimaces. "…'Tis a risky plan, but I can devise none better and you three seem to have a peculiar talent of performing miracles."

Chrom nods. "Then, we shall leave for the volcano as soon as possible before Walhart and his men arrives."

Everyone voices their agreement before beginning their preparation for the immediate departure once more. Robin takes Chrom, Reina, and Kai to a secluded spot so that no one is in their earshot.

"Chrom, we should let Say'ri fight Yen'fay." She suggests.

"Why?" Chrom asks.

"Say'ri said herself. Chon'sin is made up people descended from past heroes and then we can probably let their blades speak for themselves what the other thinks."

"I have to agree. There is a saying that actions speak louder than words." Reina says.

Hearing this Chrom thought for a bit. "I can say that Say'ri is strong enough to go against her brother, whether or not I've seen him fight. But I'm worried as to what would happen if she ended up killing him. I know it's necessary to get past his army, however..."

"If that were to happen, she would regain herself." Kai says.

Robin nods. "If Walhart is the one who made them fight to the death on opposite sides, then it would only make her more determined to stop him. If I were in her position, I'd have done the same, since we know mourning over dead doesn't bring them back. What worries me is only the weight of her actions that comes after she finishes what she came for."

Chrom sighs after hearing this. "So, we have no other choice, but, to make them fight against each other, then... All right. Robin, I'm counting you to come up with a strategy then."

* * *

As they draw closer to the burning mountain, they soon see a long passage that goes rather deep in as the light shines on the other side of it. Entering it, they can feel the heat rising as beads of sweat rolling down. When they get closer to the light, a field of hot lava rocks and flowing molten lava spread out before them. In addition, Reina spots soldiers standing on pitch black rocks in very familiar armors.

"It's the Valmese soldiers..." She points out.

Meena and Kai then scan around the area and soon come upon one particular soldier with a different air around him. "Reina, look!" Meena points out to her sister to the soldier.

This soldier has long silver hair tied back into a ponytail with black samurai armor. Out of the entire enemy troops, he is the only one wearing a different style of armor and also looks extremely strong.

"Could he be..." Kai trails off.

"Probably. Seeing the Chon'sin soldiers wear armor like that, then he must be Say'ri's older brother, Yen'fay." Reina confirms.

Before the battle starts, Robin made sure that she didn't exclude Say'ri as she begins to give out orders. As the fighting begins, Robin notices the same man back at the fort suddenly teleport himself next to Yen'fay before he vanishes.

"Excellus..." Say'ri growls quietly. "That coward. He ran off and let his soldiers do the dirty work again, didn't he."

"Excuse me?" Chrom says with a frown. "So, he's one of Valmese generals?"

Say'ri nods with a grimace. "That he is, but he always makes his men do the fighting instead while he sits back and watches. It's no surprise if that what he's playing to do right now."

"So that's what he did back at the fort?" Reina questions.

Robin frowns and shakes her head. "Then let's not lower our guard down or let the heat influence our emotions as it already is. Don't let them find an opening in your fight. Also, not only we have to deal with the Valmese soldiers, but one small step in the wrong path can put you in danger."

Chrom nods. "That's right. We need to hurry before the entire area completely collapses too." He then raises his arm. "Shepherds, let's go!"

At the signal, everyone goes charge in their respective groups as their tactician calls out more commands while taking part in the battle next to Chrom and Say'ri. Though the goal was to get past Yen'fay's troops as quickly as possible, the truth is that they wanted Say'ri to be the one to fight against her brother since the woman show no interest in speaking with her brother as she sought only to stop him with her own hands. With this and the safety of the group in mind. Chrom, his wife, and their Pokémon carefully guide the soldiers through the sweltering battlefield as sweat and ashes begin to cover their faces and armors. Chrom, Luke, and Say'ri lead the attack as they begin to make their way to the Cho'sin general with their friends by their side. As they draw closer to the general, they parry off another soldier as Chrom took down at least three more or so before he hears a shout.

"Chrom!" Robin's voice shouts.

He turns around and sees her, Drago, and Say'ri fighting against two soldiers while two more come from behind. He and Luke rush over to their side cutting down soldiers that tried to stop them before they block the two enemies attack from reaching the women's backs.

"Prince Chrom!" Say'ri looks back in surprise.

"G-go!" He manages to mutter out before he and Luke push the two soldiers back with all their strength. "Hurry!"

 **"Take this chance and go!"** Luke tells them and the two cuts down a couple of soldiers.

Robin and Drago quickly nod before the tactician grabs Say'ri's hand and drags her away from the prince and Ellade. Once the three reaches to Yen'fay, Say'ri takes a few steps forward.

"Brother. I won't ask you why... We are well beyond that point now. I will speak it plain: I cannot forgive you, and neither can I let you live." Say'ri bluntly states.

"I've asked you for nothing, Sister, least of all your forgiveness." Yen'fay replies.

"But you will have my justice, like it or no! You, who stood by in silence while everyone around you suffered! While villages were razed and fields burned, you watched but said nothing... When Father and mother were murdered―you said nothing! Nothing before you ran to the arms of the one man responsible for all of it! Your silence was deafening. Maddening. Even now...have you nothing to say?!" From her outburst, Yen'fay didn't say anything causing the swordswoman to shout, "Damn you, Yen'fay! Then I will make your sword answer for you! Draw your blade, and let it sing your final words!"

"Say'ri, Drago and I will be here just in case something happens." Robin tells her.

"You have my thanks."

Meanwhile, as Kai cuts down a soldier, Reina lets an arrow fly towards the mage that was behind the soldier just before he about to cast a spell and then another soldier jumps behind her with an overhead swing, Éclair appears and uses Iron Tail to deflect the soldier from her trainer.

Reina turns her head and smiles at her Pokémon. "Good job, Éclair." She praises as the Pikachu lands in front of her.

"Pikachu!"

Reina then looks around seeing the numbers of the enemy soldiers are dwindling down and looks towards where Say'ri and Yen'fay are fighting with Robin and Drago standing at the sidelines. However, something isn't right.

"Why is Say'ri pushing him so easily?" She questions.

"You noticed too?" Kai asks. "If he's what Say'ri said about him, then Yen'fay wouldn't be like this."

"Yeah, but why?"

Just before the two can reach to a conclusion, Say'ri dealt the last blow to her brother, knocking him on the ground with blood flowing from his chest and his sword away from him. From where she stands, Say'ri can only look at her brother with sweat pouring down her cheeks.

"Say'ri... You have grown...so strong…" Yen'fay breathes out.

"...Do...do you mock me?" Say'ri questions. "I have seen your best swordplay...that was not it. You went easy on me...but why?"

"What I could not tell you in life... I say with my death…"

"But, Yen'fay…"

"You have found...strong comrades... I no longer need fear for you... ...I die...in peace…"

Hearing this, Sa'yri kneels beside Yen'fay. "Yen'fay, wait! What do you mean? Why?! Don't leave me with more silence—not this time! Yen'fay!" Say'ri cries out on the now dead Yen'fay.

After leaving her for a moment, Chrom, Luke, Reina, Éclair, and Kai approach to Say'ri, Robin and Drago as everyone else begins to regather. The swordswoman regains her composure as she stands back up and turns to them.

"Our victory is secured... Yen'fay has fallen." She reports.

Kai frowns. "Did you find a clue to why he sided with the enemy, Say'ri?"

She grimaces and shakes her head in disappointment. "No. He never told me why. I will never understand why he joined Walhart... His reasons die with him."

Suddenly, a bright light appears in front of them causing everyone to be on their guard as a smug tone is heard.

"But oh, what a death it was!" That voice was Excellus with a grotesque overjoyed expression on his face as he continues with a side grin. "Did you see the grief etched on his face? The mix of longing and pain in the eyes? He had become such an accomplished actor, but that was all too real, hee hee!"

"Excellus..." Say'ri growls in anger. "What would you know of my brother, you loathsome toad!"

"More than you, princess of Chon'sin." The mage replies with a chuckle. "And I would watch that mouth of yours... I am honoring Yen'fay's sacrifice by not killing you now... but even I have my limits."

By this, Say'ri freezes. "...What? What do you mean 'sacrifice'?"

"Oopsie! Did I just spilled the beans?" Excellus laughs as he glances over the direction of the corpse. "I'm so sorry, but I promised your dear brother I'd never tell..."

Say'ri growls. "Explain yourself, snake―or die!"

Hearing this, Excellus spat angrily, "Bah! As if YOU could harm ME! YOU only live by MY grace, your ungrateful WRETCH! I could have you killed countless times! And I would have, if not for him..."

Before anyone can say another word, Say'ri shouts, "Enough talking around it―say what you mean!"

"Oh? Did Yen'fay not groan out the truth as you cut him to bloody pieces?" The mage questions darkly with a smirk. "No, I suppose not. He always was so quiet. And proud... honorable, I think they call it? Yet he swallow his pride and cast aside his honor... all to protect his beloved kin. That's right, Little Sis. He did it... to save you."

"What? ...Lies... You're lying!"

The enemy's face twists into rage once more. "No, I'm telling the truth, which I admit is a rare treat, so you best shut up and enjoy it. Before you met these Ylisseans, I could have your head with a word. In Chon'sin, at Valm Harbor... Did you really think yourself so elusive? You were my leverage for Yen'fay. Unwitting and unbound, but a hostage all the same. I let you live; he fought for us. That was our deal and he kept his end, right TO his end!"

"No... No!" Say'ri screams much to the mage's delight.

"Phew..." Excellus grins triumphantly. "Well, I don't know about you, but I feel MUCH better having that off my chest. Maybe I will give this truth-telling a try more often! Yes, I shall resolve to do so!"

"Why you little!" Reina shouts as she whips her bow out with an arrow notch to it.

"In any case, good-bye friends! I which your safe travels, and so sorry about Yen'fay... Oops! I broke my resolution twice already! Tee hee hee!" After he said this, Reina let her arrow fly only for there to be a flash of light as the arrow lands into the ground causing the female archer to click her tongue in irritation.

Say'ri's shoulder shakes. "N-no, this isn't... This can't be... Yen'fay, no..."

"Say'ri..." Chrom calls as Kai goes over and picks up Yen'fay's sword, Amatsu, lying on the ground.

"Gods..." Say'ri grimaces. "The things I said to him... The things I did... I wronged him beyond imagining." Nobody can say a word as she continues, "If he had only spoken! Told me! I could have joined the ruse, I..."

"Milady," Lucina speaks up. "I know well the grief of losing family with so much yet unsaid."

"I am wretched." Say'ri states with a grimace. "I've repaid my brother's kindness with death! Oh, Yen'fay, forgive me... Please, oh please... Please..."

"S-Say'ri, I..." Lissa frowns as she begins to wipe the tears away from her cheeks. " I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!"

"Say'ri." Chrom speaks. "You did all you could. Your brother knew that... You are blameless in this. Excellus and the empire are at fault here. And they will make to answer for it I promise you."

"Sir Chrom, I..." Say'ri mutters as she wipes away her tears that almost flow. "Pray, forgive me. You have done so much for this land while I can give nothing in return. Or worse... What help I offer turned against us..."

Robin shakes her head. "WE'RE the Resistance now, and we've yet to lose a battle! Ye'fay would be proud. And he'd also want us to fight on... to make sure his sacrifice has meaning. And we will, Say'ri. Until this land is free."

"Aye, my lady..." The swordswoman replies with a nod. "And thank you. I owe my life to you all and to my brother... I swear to you, and to him... I will make the most of it."

Kai then walks over to her. "I think this belongs to you now."

Say'ri looks at the sword her brother once held in Kai's hand and hesitantly grabs the blade.

Suddenly the ground soon begins to shake once it was all over and Lissa screams after she dried her tears as her brother grimaces before ordering, "Everyone, we need to get out of her now! Those too tired, get on the wagon! Hurry!"

Everyone immediately follows his commands as Lissa jumps on into the wagon with a few other Shepherds before they run to the exit with all their might. As they close in, everyone takes their last step and jump as a blast of cool air blows into their faces. Almost everyone, except Sumia, land on their feet as they continue to run while the rumbling intensifies. As this happens, the molten begins to slowly flow out of the mountain.

Fortunately, the wagon is spared from the lava as it continues to move until it stops on a hilltop far away that gives them the full view of the event. Some follow the captain and glances over to the scenery while the others return to rest on the cool grass wiping their faces from the ashes. Not only everyone is covered in ashes, but also the smell of smoke as the sweet scent of grass comes to their noses. Everyone is taking this time to regather themselves taking a deep breath of the fresh air. There is little tension left since the first part of the strategy is over. All that's left is to return to the fort where some of the Feroxi soldiers are stationed. However, seeing the sun has set just over the horizon trees, Chrom decides to find a safe location to camp for the night. Miriel advises the captain to move further away from the area as the ashes and smoke from the volcano is rather deadly if taken if for too long. Éclair notices the Chon'sin princess glancing over to the volcano and the Pikachu pulls her trainer to her now that Reina sees the solemn expression over her face as her hand rests on the hilt of her brother's blade.

"Say'ri..." Reina whispers silently.

* * *

~Next Day~

After a night rest and healing any injuries and burns, the company walks through the cool damp morning for hours now since they got up first this at dawn. The majority of them had to eat whatever they had on them. It wasn't long before they've reached back to the fort untouched with the Feroxi guards at front welcoming them back. For a while, the healers immediately continue with their work as they check on the patients since they didn't have the time to finish on them during the march, then sounds of running footsteps can be heard throughout the hall.

"Milord!" At the sound of a soldier rushing over, Chrom turns to see the soldier who is catching his breath. "K-Kahn Basilio, he... He has been killed in battle!"

"No!" Lucina exclaims in horror.

"Damn it all!" Chrom yells with a look of disbelief. "You're certain?"

"I am." They turn and see the remaining Khan walk over to them with a firn expression as she continues, "He's gone, Chrom. I saw him fall myself. He's gone..."

"Flavia!" Meena calls out with slight relief.

"Flavia! What happened?" Chrom asks until his eyes soon grew wide. "Wait... You're hurt!" Though unharmed on one side, her other bears numerous bleeding cuts and gashes, some of which others look fresh. He quickly turns to his future daughter. "Lucina―Fetch a healer at once!"

Just as the woman about to leave, Flavia stops her as she mutters angrily with a scowl, "I'll be fine, gods, damn me... Gods damn me for outliving that one-eyed clod! That big, bald oaf! That... That..." She then screams out in frustration and anger strewed across her face with shoulders shake in rage.

"That's twice now I have failed..." Lucina mutters quietly breaking the short silence.

"I'll kill him!" Flavia swears. "I'll cut that dastard Walhart down myself! I swear it before the gods!"

Before anyone can shout along the line, Chrom speaks, "No, Flavia... for now, you need to rest and to heal. When the time is right, we will avenge Basilio. You have my word."

After some hesitation, Flavia slowly nods. "Then know that I will hold you to it..."

Lucina grimaces as she whispers to herself, "...Why did I let him go..."

Before anyone can answer, Flavia speaks again, "Chrom, there is something else. Something important. Basilio asked I give you this..."

With that, she pulls out a strange red orb from her small bag around her waist earning gasp from some of the people around them.

Stun in disbelief, Chrom gaps. "Wait... is that...?" He stops himself as he speaks firmly with a nod. "Ah... I can feel its power resonating through my whole body..."

Luke nods. **"Yeah. I can feel it too."**

The Khan nods. "It's Gules, one of the Gemstones you need."

"How-"

"Don't ask me why in hell's name the oaf hid it from you." Flavia cuts Kai off with a bit irritation in her voice before she sighs. "He always did love his surprises, damn him."

Chrom nods. "Whatever his reasons, I accept his gift now, and gladly."

With the orb in his hands now, Flavia sighs once more and shakes her head. "It's hard to believe he's truly gone... The large the man, the large the void left in his wake..."

"And Khan Basilio was a titan." Lucina adds cautiously. "There is no replacing him. I should have tried harder to convince him..."

Reina pats her shoulder. "It's no one's fault but the empire's, Lucina. We know that Basilio would have gone regardless of what we say."

"Pikachu." Éclair nods.

Lucina grimaces before she finally nods.

Just then, Say'ri, walks in the council room. "The scouts have reported back." Suddenly, the tension is in the air as Say'ri speaks carefully. "Walhart's army... has retreated to the imperial capital."

"Retreated?!" Robin exclaims.

"It seems the dynast turncloaks are withdrawing their soldiers as well."

"I don't believe it..." Chrom mutters in disbelief.

Say'ri continues with the report, "Steiger and Yen'fay have fallen; it's no shock Walhart might pull back to regroup and, of course, the dynasts now see cracks forming in the empire..."

Chrom frowns. "Maybe they'll reconsider which side they will fight for?"

Lucina nods. "Possibly, if they can see an advantage in it for themselves. WIth them or not, it seems a decisive battle is upon us."

Say'ri nods. "To think, how quickly our fortunes have shifted..."

Robin frowns. "We have Basilio to thank for it. His sacrifice made it all possible..." Her face changes to grimace. "If only there had been some other way, though..."

"No second guessing!" Flavia snaps. "Basilio would have hated that. You did your duty as best as you were able, same as he." She lets out a sigh before a calm smile takes place. "Now clear the doubts out of that clever head of yours―we're going to need it. The fate of Valm―and all our homelands here―hang on this next battle. For the sake of history and all our fallen comrades... We will bring this empire crashing down!"

Chrom nods with a stern look. "Shepherds! Comrades! Soldiers! We make for the capital! This 'Conqueror's' reign ends now!"


	34. Tiki's Rite and the Dive Pokémon

Chapter 34: Tiki's Rite and the Dive Pokémon

Before the Shepherds go to their next destination, Tiki requests to go to the south of where they are. When they reach there, they enter a valley as they feel relax and refreshed after feeling the wind blowing through them.

"Mmm... The air is sweet here. It's so calming." Chrom notes.

"Makes you want to just flop down and take a huge nap, doesn't it?" Lissa states.

"Tempting…" Lucina admits.

"Odd. It seems like anywhere else to me…" Robin says.

"This is Naga's Cradle." Say'ri introduces. "It is said the divine dragon once called this place home. Here, the Voice will enact a holy rite to commune with Naga and regain her power."

Tiki then begins to focus on something and walks towards a certain spot when Lucina notices this. "Lady Tiki." The Voice didn't reply as she closes her eyes and blue aura surrounds her. "...Lady Tiki?" The future princess calls once more.

"Pray be silent, milady." Say'ri tells her. "The Voice is currently performing the rite. In doing so, she will draw the divine dragon's power from the land unto herself."

Hearing this, Lucina apologizes, "Forgive me, I didn't realize. I thought she was sleeping... She looks so peaceful. What do you think she sees? Does she perchance dream?"

"I imagine she—" Chrom cuts himself when he notices Risen coming. "...Uh-oh. Is that what I think it is? Say'ri! Lucina! Enemies approach us from the south. We'd better get ready, or the Voice here is in for a rude awakening."

Hearing this, the Shepherds immediately gets their weapons ready as Robin orders them to form a triangle-shaped barrier around Tiki. Once that's done, Say'ri speaks to the tactician, "The Voice is defenseless in this state. We must become her shield until the rite is complete. We await your strategy, Robin. Make us as a wall of steel!"

Robin nods. "Got it! Reina, Kai, can your Pokémon help us?"

Reina and Kai already have their Pokéballs in their hands as Reina rhetorically questions, "Do you have to ask?" Both of them then throws the Pokéballs into the air, letting them snap open revealing their Pokémon except Solgaleo and Lunala. "Everyone, we're going to protect Lady Tiki from the enemies."

The Pokémon from both trainers confirms with their own cry before taking their place in the formation. Then the Risens begin to charge at them, specifically Tiki, except the Risen Chief. The Shepherds intercepts them, killing them one by one as the enemies' reinforcements come in causing the Shepherds to spread out a bit while still in the triangle formation. Afterward, as the numbers of Risen dwindles down, the Risen Chief decides to move towards them as both Lucina and Reina notice this. The two go towards the Chief with their partners as they stop it with Reina stopping her tracks so she notches an arrow on her bow with Lucina continues to charge with her blade. The Risen has no choice but to parry the future princess off as Reina lets her arrow fly off towards the undead with Éclair sending an Electro Ball and Adella with Rock Throw. After getting hit by the attacks, the Risen Chief stops momentarily for Lucina to land the finishing blow.

With the Risen all gone, Tiki opens her eyes signaling that her rite is complete and Say'ri asks, "Are you unharmed, Lady Tiki?"

"Yes, thanks to you. I apologize for the delay, but the rite has borne fruit." Tiki states.

"You've taken in the power of the divine dragon?"

"Some of it, yes. ...It's strange. This power had always isolated me." Tiki explains. "Many were the days I wept alone, cursing the charge placed before me…"

"Lady Tiki…" Lucina mutters.

"But now my power has a purpose, and the world needs it to avoid a ruinous future. And so I shall offer it freely. Allow me to join you."

"...Are you certain?

Tiki nods. "I am. I've had quite enough of living in solitude, thank you. Besides, I've always longed to better know this world. Now I can help you save it."

Hearing that Tiki is joining the Shepherds raises their morals higher since the battle with Walhart is coming soon. Then, Éclair's ears perk up and she looks around getting Reina's attention.

"What's wrong, Éclair?" She asks but instead of answering, the Pikachu jumps off from her perch and runs towards the edge of the land. "Wait, Éclair! That's dangerous over there!" Reina chases after her with Kai and Meena following behind.

Stopping at the edge, Éclair looks down and sees something moving on one of the cliff sides. "Pika?"

"Éclair!" The said Pokémon turns around to see Reina coming to her with Meena and Kai after her. "It's dangerous to stay here!"

"Pikachu! Pika-pika!" Éclair says as she points down the cliff.

"Is something there?" Reina asks as she looks down to see something small with the colors of white and blue on another cliff. "There's something down on a cliff!"

"What?!" Kai questions as he and Meena also looks down, confirming what Reina said.

"What should we do? It looks like that cliff won't hold out much longer." Meena says with a worried tone.

"I'll go down there." Reina states getting the attention of the other two.

"Wait, Reina! It's dangerous to go down there!" Kai tells her.

"He's right, Reina." Meena agrees.

"Don't worry. I came in prepared in this situation." The archer tells the two as she takes out a long rope, harnesses, and mountain pitons from her bag. Reina puts on the harness that has a hook ready and ties the end rope on it before tying the other end on the piston and nailing it into the ground. She then put her bag on her back and face towards Meena and Kai. "I'll be back."

"Reina..." Meena calls.

"Are you sure about this?" Kai asks.

"If I wasn't, then I wouldn't have brought these gears out." Reina points out and climbs down the cliff as Meena and Kai watch her.

Once Reina's figure goes down, Chrom and Robin approach them.

"Meena, Kai!" Chrom calls out.

"What are you two doing here?" Robin asks and both she and Chrom look down in surprise as Reina continues to climb down. "Reina?!"

"That's dangerous! Come back!"

Hearing two more voices, Reina looks up to see Chrom and Robin there. "I can't! There's a Pokémon down here that needs help!" She replies back and continues moving downwards to the cliff below.

"Reina!" Robin calls out.

Hearing the commotion, Lissa, Lucina, Say'ri, and Tiki comes over to see Reina carefully climbing down the cliff wall. As Reina moves her left foot down on a rock, it breaks apart making her drop both of her feet and causing the group above to gasp in shock but her hands still on the sturdy rocks. Reina also looks down having a bead of sweat going down before placing her feet on different rocks to go down. On the land above, the group sighs in relief.

"That was close... She almost gave me a heart attack." Lissa says.

Robin nods. "I agree."

"But why would Lady Reina be climbing down?" Say'ri questions.

"There's a Pokémon stuck down there." Meena answers. "If we use a Flying-Type Pokémon to go down there, it only stimulates the cliff walls."

"So this is the best option..." Chrom notes with a grimace.

"But with one wrong step, she'll fall like before." Lissa points out.

"Don't worry. With the gear she's wearing, Reina will be fine." Kai states.

After taking another step down, Reina looks down to the small cliff where the small Pokémon is and confirms the distance between her and the cliff. "All right. I'm almost there." She moves in closer to the cliff and places her feet one before facing the Pokémon which surprises her.

In front of Reina is a small pale silver-white dragon, with blue undersides with slightly varying tones. It has a ridged mouth similar to a beak, although it has pointed teeth on its lower jaw. Its head has a point to the back, and its eyes have pointed blue or black spikes on them. The figure has a long, slender neck and a smooth, streamlined body. Dark blue or black plate-like protrusions run down the length of its back, and there are two smaller, more pointed ones on the end of its tail. It has large wings that resemble hands.

"This is a surprise. I never thought I'd find a baby Lugia here." Reina admits and steps closer to the baby Pokémon, but it moves away from her. "Don't be afraid. I'm here to help you." She tells it as Reina kneels in front of Lugia and offers her hand to the Pokémon.

At first, Lugia is wary of her but seeing the gentle smile on Reina's face, it calms down and comes closer to her, letting her to pet it. Above the cliff, the group anxiously wait for the female archer to come back as they watch her putting the Pokémon into her bag before climbing back up. When Reina's hands grip on the ground, she pushes herself up.

"Reina!" Lissa cheers happily as she hugs the female trainer after she stands back up.

"You had us worried." Chrom tells Reina.

"Sorry about that, but I managed to save this one." Reina says as she turns her bag around her and opens the lid showing Lugia in it.

"That's-"

"Lugia!" Meena and Kai exclaim in surprise.

"Lugia?" Lissa repeats.

"Is there something special with this Pokémon?" Robin asks.

"In our world, Lugia is considered to be one of the legendary Pokémon in Johto Region." Meena states.

"Also, finding a baby Lugia is very rare since the parent is very protective of its young." Kai adds and questions, "Did something happen to them for the parent to leave this one alone?"

The baby Lugia hangs its head with a sad expression when Tiki walks towards Reina, getting the group's attention.

"Lady Tiki?" Say'ri calls out as the Voice stands in front of Reina who is still holding the baby Lugia.

She then picks it up and cradles it in her arms before saying, "I'll take care of this one."

Hearing this shocks the group and leaving them agape as Lugia looks up at Tiki.

"Are you sure about this?" Reina asks.

"Yes. Also," Tiki looks down at the baby Pokémon with a smile, "I don't want this young one to experience the loneliness as I did."

Looking at the smile Tiki is giving to Lugia, Reina smiles and nods. "Okay." Everyone else looks at her with surprise. "Then I'll leave this one to you, Lady Tiki."

"Thank you, Reina."


	35. The Final Confrontation

Chapter 35: The Final Confrontation

Two days after leaving the Divine Dragon Grounds, Shepherds return to the fort to restock, rest, and wait for the scouts that Flavia sent to check on the situation of the enemies' positions and any movements from the Empire. In the meantime, they continue their training as Reina separate herself from the others to a secluded area for her aiming with Asuna watches her.

Standing behind the archer, Asuna watches with Éclair in her arms as Reina taking out two arrows and notches one of them, aiming at the target that is 300 meters away from her as she breathes in. Reina then lets the arrow fly, hitting the target but little away from the bullseye mark before she notches the other arrow and shoots it and this time the second arrow hit at the center. As she breathes out, Reina hears Asuna clapping at the performance.

"That was cool, Mama!" Asuna exclaims and Reina turns to her.

"Thank you, Asuna. But I still have a lot to go." Reina says.

"Even though you shoot that far?" Asuna tilts her head.

"Even if I shoot that far, I still want my arrows to hit on the bullseye." The female trainer kneels in front of Asuna before turning her head to the target, pointing at one of the arrows. "Can you see the arrow away from the red mark?" Asuna looks at the target with squinted eyes. "Every archer always aims at the red mark, if there is the slightest change of course, an arrow like that one will miss and hit somewhere else."

The girl hums after listening to her mother and feels a hand placing on her head causing Asuna to turn to Reina who is smiling at her. "You probably don't understand right now, but in the future, you will."

Asuna nods eagerly as Éclair jumps onto Reina's shoulder before hearing rushing footsteps coming towards them. Looking up, they see Chrom and Robin coming towards them as Reina stands back up.

"Is there something wrong you two?" She asks.

"Yes. Were we interrupting something?" The prince asks.

Reina shakes her head. "No. Did something happened?"

Robin frowns. "The scout that was sent came back just now."

"Then..."

Chrom nods. "Yes. The scout's said that their forces are starting to mobilize. I've sent Frederick to gather the Shepherds, however, what's bothers me isn't about being prepared."

Flavia comes up behind them. "Our spies reported that Walhart is about to begin marching here with an army twice as large as ours. I suggested that we should've gone at them when we had a change from the beginning, but..."

"I told you before," Robin responds, "that's what he'd want us to do. They would be an ambush us if we went there as we were. We wouldn't have any chances of surviving out of that if we did. We needed to be patient and wait for them to begin to come out instead."

"You are right with that decision, Robin." Reina agrees.

Chrom nods. "The Conqueror is finally going to fall. We need to be ready for whatever he plans to throw at us."

* * *

With the word of the enemy making their way to the fort, the Shepherds immediately gather their things while Chrom and Robin assign a few soldiers to remain with Asuna. It isn't long before Reina comes outside in the wagon with Éclair, Meena, and Kai. However, instead of a long trip, the travel to the capital of Valm isn't as long as they thought and before they knew it, they arrive at the castle walls with the sun still high in the sky.

Coming out of the wagon, Reina, Meena, and Kai walk up to Chrom and the others as they look at the wall with no soldiers in sight.

"This is strange?" Reina says.

"Yeah... Where is his army?" Chrom questions.

"No sign of them yet, milord." Frederick says.

Robin cups her chin. "Hmm..."

Flavia frowns. "I don't like it. They could be buying time..."

"...Buying time waiting for what?" Lissa asks.

"Who knows, but they'll eventually come out." Reina answers.

Just like Reina said, it isn't long before they finally see more soldiers rushing out and see in the distance a man in red armor on a white horse with a long ax in hand.

"That's him, isn't it? Walhart... Brave of him to face us." Chrom notes.

"Brave? Aye. But more likely he just wants to enjoy this himself." Say'ri confirms.

"You do your sister's legacy proud, Prince! A conqueror who broke stronger men than you when they refuse to bow." Walhart shouts and calls out his soldiers, "Warriors of Valm! Ride with me now! Together we will stamp out this final pack of insurgents and unite the world!"

Valmese soldiers shout out in a cheer at their leader's speech as the Shepherds watch this.

"There's no way we'll be outdone by them. Right, Chrom?" Kai asks, turning to the captain.

"You got that right, Kai." Chrom smiles then change into a serious expression before signaling the Shepherds to charge.

With the signal, both sides clash each other and Robin immediately orders for some of them to head over to the stone towers while a small squad with Chrom to charge towards Walhart. Now face to face, Chrom readies his sword at the conqueror with Luke into a stance.

"Why do you resist me, little Prince?" Walhart questions.

"You enslave the weak and kill the able. You are the enemy of peace." Chrom answers.

"I would end the reign of the gods, and you object on moral grounds?! Blood is spilled in any new birth, Prince. And in many a just cause, as you know…"

"There is no justification for what you've done."

"By whose laws do you judge me? Yours? Your sister's? The gods'?"

"You cannot—"

"Look at you! Are you not ashamed?" Walhart cuts the captain off. "Your mind is filled with nothing but secondhand beliefs. You dance upon the stage of your gods like a mindless puppet! THAT is what I reject: being a slave to tradition, to obligation. The old ways. Damn the gods! Damn their fates and their destinies! I will have true freedom! And man who offers less is my enemy."

"Enough! I don't require every detail of your twisted philosophy. You're a villain and a murderer, plain and simple. And I am the justice you deserve."

The conqueror laughs, "Ha ha ha! Better, Prince. Much better! Be not an agent of someone else's justice, but justice itself! Now, let us fight as two great men, freed of their gods. I grant any challenger the chance to test his will against my own... But you, too, shall be found wanting!"

 _ **"Chrom."**_ Hearing the familiar voice in his head, Chrom turns to his partner who has his eyes turned to him. _**"Out of everyone, I know you made those sacrifices for peace of this world. You're not the kind of man that Walhart has said."**_

 _"Luke..."_ Chrom calls in his thoughts and the Blade Pokémon nods.

"Thank you, friend." He whispers quietly only for Luke to hear and shouts, "Let's go!"

Meanwhile, Kai slashes a soldier with Reina as his support as Éclair and Blacky (Kai's Umbreon) cover them both with their attacks. Reina looks around the battlefield before shooting an oncoming soldier who was charging that them as Kai slashes another soldier.

"Even with some of the Shepherds occupying the towers, there still a lot of them." Reina notes.

"I have to agree with you on that, Reina." Kai replies and looks at his Umbreon. "Blacky, are still okay to fight?"

"Blacky!" The Moonlight Pokémon nods.

"What about you, Éclair?" Reina asks her Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" Éclair pumps her arms.

The female archer then notices Say'ri rush towards where Walhart is. "Say'ri?" She says as Kai notices her too.

"What is she doing?" He questions.

"Knowing her, she wants to pay Walhart for what he did to her country." Reina replies and immediately, she and Kai realize what she is planning.

"Don't tell me-?!" Kai exclaims before he and Reina chase after her with Éclair and Blacky behind them.

As Say'ri rushes towards Walhart, she stumbles upon more soldiers standing in her way. The Chon'sin princess tries to fight them off when two more jumps behind her, causing her to turn around with wide eyes. However, just as the two soldiers about to land their attacks, a strong electric shock, and black energy hit each of them as a few arrows hit the other soldiers who Say'ri fought as well as a young man jumps above her and slashes the remaining soldiers. The swordswoman turns around to see Kai there and turns back to find Reina, Éclair, and Blacky running up to them.

"Say'ri!" Reina calls out.

"Reina?" Say'ri calls and turns to Kai. "Kai?"

"That was reckless of you running towards Walhart like that." Kai reprimands.

"What's more, going alone." Reina adds.

"My apologies, you two. But I have to make Walhart pay for what he did to my country."

"But going in alone is dangerous. Especially fighting Walhart."

"Pikachu." Éclair agrees.

Say'ri frowns and grips her sword. "I understand what you are saying, but..."

"Then how about this?" Kai asks getting their attention. "We'll come with you to fight Walhart."

"That's a great idea, Kai!" Reina states and looks at Say'ri. "What do you think, Say'ri?"

The swordswoman looks at both for the moment and then bows. "I can't thank you enough."

"Then let's go."

–Back with Chrom and Luke–

Chrom and Luke continue to fight the conqueror, but Walhart doesn't have a scratch on him while the two breathes out and has scratches all over their bodies.

"As expected from the conqueror..." Chrom pants.

 **"But..."** Luke adds.

"We won't lose/ **We won't lose!"** Chrom and Luke shout.

When Walhart about to hit them again, an arrow flies towards him which he blocks it with his ax and then a shadow figure jumps above him.

"Walhart!" The said man looks up to see Say'ri, diving down towards him with an overhead slash, causing him to block the oncoming blade. Seeing her surprise attack didn't work, Say'ri jumps away from him as the conqueror takes a closer look at the swordswoman.

"Hmm? The princess of Chon'sin? It's a wonder you still live." Walhart says.

"I have survived your gauntlet of betrayal and death, tyrant." Say'ri spats. "Shall I describe to you now the searing pain of it all? The torture of watching friends, family...my entire kingdom perish? The fresh hell of each new day, with no respite in sight?"

"Pain is a concern of men. And respite? Beg that from your gods. Your concerns are not mine. I have risen to a higher plane of existence."

"Then today you come crashing down to the hell you've made of this one."

"Chrom! Luke!" Hearing Reina's voice calling out to them makes the two to turn, seeing her, Kai, Éclair and Blacky running up to them.

"Reina! Kai!" Chrom calls out.

 **"What are you guys doing?"** Luke questions.

"We're here to support Say'ri." Reina answers.

"We know that in her current state, Say'ri can't beat Walhart alone." Kai explains. "That's why we're going to fight along with her."

"Hmph! Try as you may be, but I will not be deterred!" Walhart claims.

"Here he comes!" Kai warns and they jump away from the conqueror charge.

Immediately after landing on the ground, Reina draws an arrow into her bow and lets it fly as both Kai and Say'ri rush towards the enemy leader. However, instead of landing a hit, Walhart swings his ax at the two, pushing both of them back and deflects the arrow. Seeing her arrow deflected, Reina's hand moves back to the quiver but notices that she doesn't have many arrows left.

 _'This is bad...'_ Reina thought, looking at the little number of arrows she has. _'I don't have much arrows left. Plus it doesn't help that Walhart keeps blocking them. Which means...'_ She looks at her hands.

"This is my first time using this... I hope it works..." Reina mutters and looks up. "Kai! Say'ri!" The two stops their tracks and looks at the archer. "Buy me some time!"

"What are you planning?" Kai asks trying to dodge Walhart's swing.

"I'm going to use my power."

Hearing this catches Éclair and Say'ri's attention.

"Are you certain of this?" Say'ri asks and Reina nods.

Éclair runs up and stands in front of her "Pikachu-pika-pika-chupika!" She yells at Reina to stop her from using that power.

Reina however, smiles sadly. "I'm sorry, Éclair. But," The female trainer looks up with a serious expression, "in this situation, there's no other way." She then closes her eyes. "I call upon the power dwell within me... Lend me the strength to rid of the obstacles before me..." The wind slowly circles around her as Reina points her bow at Walhart and brings her other hand on it while he is distracted by Kai and Say'ri. "For this, I pledge myself to protect the weak and judge those who have wrongdoings." She brings her free hand back as an energy arrow begins to form. "Thus those who stand in our way be destroyed...!" When she opened her eyes, blue sparks appear on the energy arrow as she maintains her aim at the red armored conqueror. "Kai! Say'ri!"

At the shout, gives the signal to the two as they jump away the trajectory and Reina lets the energy arrow fly, but she didn't realize how fast the arrow is going which shocks Walhart. When he decides to dodge it, it was too late as the arrow hits his right arm breaking through the armor.

"All right!" Kai exclaims as Chrom and Luke are surprised to see that Reina has this kind of power while the archer pants.

Say'ri nods at the damage. "Now we can defeat him." She readies her sword.

"Nngh..." Walhart grunts as he holds his wounded arm. "You think you have won? You blow as if to douse a candle, but you only stoke the fires of hell!" He declares and retreats into the castle along with still alive soldiers.

"Wallhart has retreated into the capital!" Say'ri shouts. "Fie, Will this war never end?!"

"His men gave their lives to secure his escape. They won't lay down arms until he does." Chrom notes.

"Then we must pursue and see that the deed is done." Lucina suggests.

Suddenly, they hear many shouts causing the group to turn and see many soldiers coming behind them.

"Damn! We're surrounded! They dynasts ride against us!" Chrom shouts.

Say'ri then notices the flag the soldiers are holding. "Hold, sir—look!" They look at the blue flag they are holding instead of the Valmese flag. "The symbol! That's not the symbol of Valm!"

"Then are they from Chon'sin?" Kai asks.

"If they're carrying that flag and not Valmese's, then it has to be." Reina points out.

Say'ri eyes widen in shock as she mutters, "This...boggles the mind…"

"Do you recognize them?" Chrom asks seeing the newcomers.

"Aye, sir. They're from the southlands... States that betrayed us for the empire. ...Or so I thought."

Flavia smirks. "Well, their allegiance seems clear enough now."

"I can hardly believe it... Theirs are the lands my brother commanded." Say'ri says in disbelief. "Finally, now, they come to answer the call?"

"Finally is right. It's taken a lot of hard work to get here, Say'ri. A lot of sacrifice. From you, from Basilio, from your brother. Don't forget this moment."

"Aye, my lady." Say'ri nods. "Aye."

Chrom nods. "Now, let us finish what we began. To the capital, friends!"

Everyone cheers from Chrom's words while Kai turns to Reina who picks up Éclair and puts the Pikachu on her shoulder. "Are you okay, Reina? You look exhausted after that shooting that arrow."

"I'm fine, Kai. Seeing our reinforcements came, I'm better." Reina assures him.

"Pikachu...?" Éclair asks with a worried look.

Reina turns to her Pikachu. "Like I said earlier, I'm fine, Éclair. But I can't say about my arrows though." She looks at her quiver seeing a few numbers of arrows.

"Then it's a good time I caught up." The three turn around to see Meena there holding an armful of arrows.

Taking off the quiver from her waist, Reina helps Meena to refill it before putting back on. "Thanks, Meena. But how did you know?" Reina asks.

"You have a habit of forgetting to resupply when it comes to important battles." Meena explains.

Reina blushes and shouts, "Not all the time, Meena!" Meena laughs at her sister's reaction before the older sister clears her throat. "Anyways, we can't keep everyone here for too long. Let's go to the capital."

* * *

Once they forcefully open the gate, the company goes inside as they see the gigantic cavalry leader seated on his throne with his horse standing next to one of his soldiers holding its reins. Along the halls, they spot Excellus and the same bearded general who they fought at the Mila Tree.

"I see Walhart, still seated in his throne room. It doesn't seem like he's thinking about escape." Chrom says.

"And his soldiers... They look ready to die before they'd surrender. One must admire their loyalty, at least." Robin notes.

"He does inspire that in people. It's part of what makes him so dangerous."

Robin frowns. "He inspires that in SOME people."

"Yes, in some. But not me." The captain states.

Immediately, Robin sends Gaius and Anna to search for the treasury with their Pokémon as they begin their siege. With the battle goes on, Lucina and Inigo just finish taking down the mustache obsessed Cervantes when Meena notices something from behind them and the wagon. She gasps.

"Valmese reinforcements are coming in!" She shouts.

"What?!" Kai grimaces and turns around after taking down their enemy before them. "Damn it! Robin!"

At his voice, the female tactician turns around and nods. "Kai, Reina, Meena, go support Frederick and Sumia! Say'ri, stop Excellus! He's hiding behind those statues on the other side! Chrom, Luke, Drago, and I will keep moving! As for everyone else, keep fighting until we reach Walhart!"

Everyone did as they are told to the best of their abilities as Chrom and Robin hurry to the throne room with Luke and Drago. The three trainers hurry to their station next to Frederick and Sumia as Kai orders his Blacky to use Protect from incoming arrows and Reina brings out Absol, Kuro. Immediately, the female archer orders Kuro to use Psycho Cut at the enemy archers as Kai and Frederick swiftly dealt the last few soldiers on their side.

Meanwhile, Say'ri slashes away at a few soldiers as she moves forward when she sees her own men fallen by Excellus. When the mage sees her, his face warps into rage.

"...You. ...YOU! You and Yen'fay cost me EVERYTHING!" He yells at Say'ri.

"I only pray my brother is watching..." Say'ri says as she grips on her late brother's sword. "Yen'fay, guide my hand!"

Just as Excellus about to cast his spell, Say'ri immediately speeds up her pace as the mage casts Bolganone, making her evade the burst of flames from the floor. However, seeing another bulge of glowing red growing, the Chon'sin princess has no choice but to stop her track and jumps back from the oncoming burst of fire. Say'ri looks at the fire seeing there is no way of getting closer to Excellus but then she remembers there is another use for the sword. Just as the fire descends into the ground, Say'ri positions her sword like a javelin and throws it into the mage's chest, subsequently killing him.

–With Chrom and Robin–

"Dragon Breath!"

A burst of light blue energy hits several Valmese soldiers, throwing them back into the ground as Chrom and Luke continue their charge knocking the other soldiers down as they, Robin and Drago slowly make their way to Walhart.

After dealing with the soldiers who are protecting their leader, the four reach to the throne room.

"Walhart!" Chrom shouts.

"Prince…" The conqueror calmly calls.

"Will you surrender?"

"Don't waste my time with questions you know the answers to, boy."

"It did not have to be this way... You believed in mankind's strength... So did my sister. You believe that we are masters of our destinies... So do I. You could have joined with us."

Walhart expression changes into rage. "ME, JOIN YOU?! Does a pegasus join with the flea on its back? A dragon, with a cow it eats?! You forget your place, BOY. I am the Conqueror! I will unite the world!"

"No!" Chrom retorts. "...I will. And not by forcing all the people to choose the sword or the knee. Peace will only come by stoking people's hearts...not their fear."

"You think that's what you've done? What your sister did before you? No, she shouted some nonsense and leapt off a rock! Such weakness!"

"Wrong. Not weakness—strength. That one act lives on, and WILL live on, longer than all your conquests…"

"And longer than you will... Come then, flea, and die for your peace!"

Chrom grimaces. "Emm, I tried…"

"Chrom." The captain turns to see Robin smiling at him. "You still have us."

He looks at her and then at Luke and Drago before he nods before turning back at Walhart. "I'm counting on you, Robin, Luke, Drago."

The three nod and prepare their stance as Walhart mounts on his horse and holds his ax.

"Chrom." Robin calls whispery. "With an opponent like this, wouldn't it be wise to use Mega Evolve?"

"I might have to agree with you on that, Robin." Chrom replies. "What about you, Luke?"

 **"I'm fine if it to win against Walhart."** Luke states.

"But Chrom, we have to find the right timing to use your Mega Evolve." Robin tells the prince.

Chrom nods. "Got it."

No one moves for a moment when a pebble is dropped to the ground from the ceiling causing both Chrom and Luke charge at Walhart as Robin and Drago charge for their attacks while the conqueror waits for the oncoming two to come closer. As they run, the blades on Luke's arms glow white and he and Chrom jump towards Walhart to land a few hits, but the enemy's leader simply swings his ax at the two causing both of them to be push back on the ground. at the same time, Robin sends an Elthunder spell as Drago sends another Dragon Breath at him and this time both attacks successfully hit Walhart directly and cloud dust flies around covering Walhart's body.

 **"Did that did it?"** Luke asks.

"No." Chrom says.

Watching the dust dies down, they see Walhart having small scratches on his armor but no serious damage.

"Head-head!" Drago exclaims in shock.

"I knew that it won't have much damage on him." Robin says in discontent.

"Yeah. This might be too early, but we have no choice." Chrom says and Luke nods in agreement. The captain then touches the keystone in his right glove. "Let's go, Luke! Mega Evolve!" When touched, Chrom's Keystone and Luke's Mega stone begins to shine and streams of energy come out from both stones and connect each other, subsequently, Luke changes into his Mega Evolved form. Walhart watches the evolution process with intrigue.

Suddenly, Luke disappears and appears in front of the conqueror which surprises the red armored leader and the Mega Ellade begins his combination attack with Chrom following behind the Bladed Pokémon. As for Robin and Drago, they begin to charge their attack once more and the tactician sends the same spell as Drago sends Dragon Pulse while Chrom and Luke sees the oncoming attacks, causing the two to move away from the path and they hit Walhart again and this time, the Valmese leader grunts and flinches in pain. Using this chance, Chrom rushes towards him as Luke sends his Psycho Cut which the move hit Walhart's horse at the same time Chrom landing the finishing blow on Walhart as the conqueror falls backward to the ground.

"Nngh... Do you see? Often the sword...is the only way... My conquest...ends here..." Walhart breathes out and his body becomes lifeless.

Meanwhile, Reina, Kai, Éclair, and Blacky breathes out heavily as they are surrounded by the Valmese soldiers.

"Just when we had the advantage, these guys pop out from nowhere." Kai says.

"Whose fault is that when someone HAD to rush forward?" Reina questions.

"Don't look at me!"

"But it's true?"

Both Éclair and Blacky nod in agreement with Kai's dismay.

"Hey, Blacky, why are you agreeing with her?!" He questions.

"This is terrible!" One of the Valmese soldiers shouts. "Our master, Walhart has been defeated!"

Hearing this, the Valmese soldiers stop fighting in disarray and drop their weapons as some drop to their knees from losing Walhart.

"If Walhart is defeated, then..."

"...we won?" Kai finishes for Reina as they look at each other and then rush towards where Chrom and Robin are with Frederick and Lucina following them.

"Milord!" Frederick shouts as they reach to the throne room. "Walhart's soldiers have agreed to cease hostilities."

"Finally...Then pull our men back immediately." Chrom sighs in relief and looks at Walhart's body. "...It's strange, Frederick... Walhart and my sister were complete opposites. One gave her life to stop a war. The other took lives to create one. And yet they both inspired those around them; both walked a path to end all war. Both lived, and died, trying to unite the people."

"Yes, Father, but as they say, the method is the message." Lucina adds. "Your father suffered from beliefs similar to Walhart, and his legacy is plain to see…"

Chrom nods. "Mmm...these are matters too weighty for this moment. There will be plenty of time for reflection now that the war is done."

~Later~

With the war now over, the healers can take their time healing the injured soldiers as Say'ri asks Chrom and Robin to come into the throne room with their partner Pokémon once Walhart's body is carried off.

"Sir Chrom, a thousand thanks from every Valmese couldn't repay what you did for us." Say'ri speaks as she stretches out her hand holding a green jewel. "But I recovered Vert, the Gemstone that was stolen from Chon'sin as a trophy."

"You're giving it to me?" Chrom looks up in surprise.

 **"But it's this Chon'sin's treasure? Are you certain of this?"** Luke asks.

"Of course, sir." Say'ri nods. "It seems the fell dragon will soon threaten us all. I would feel safer knowing the Gemstone was in your hands."

Chrom nods with a grin. "Then so it will be. Thank you, Say'ri." He carefully takes the Gemstone into his hand and brings out the Shield of Seals out. They watch as he places in the fourth Gemstone into the socket of the shield. When the night draws near, the Resistance plan for a feast to celebrate the victory against Valm and Walhart's conquest as they invited the Shepards since they have been a great help freeing their country.

* * *

~Three Days Later~

After well rested and injuries are healed, the Shepherds begin to pack their things and stand in front of the castle with Chrom in front.

"Are we packed and saddled?" He asks as everyone nods. "Our business in Valm is finished, but we have another task ahead. One perhaps even more dire than we faced here... To Ylisstol!"

* * *

A/N: FINALLY FINISHED WITH THIS CHAPTER! You have no idea how much of trouble putting this chapter together. I'm not great of putting battle scenes together so it took me a while to think about it and typed it down. Anyways all that is said, onward to the continuation of the future children paralogues!


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